Who You Are Is Everything I Need
by awriterofthings
Summary: JJ is determined to get Emily to open up about her life and enjoy it more.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Emily's eyes shot open as she woke up in a cold sweat. She moved to sit up, but the sudden movement caused her battered body to ache. She let out a sigh and regretted it when her ribs reminded her again that they were broken. The brunette slowly turned her head to look at the clock on her nightstand and saw that it was only ten o'clock at night. She had only gotten an hour's worth of sleep. She had hoped once she left the hospital and was able to be in her own bed that she would sleep better, but it appeared that wasn't going to be the case tonight. Resigning herself to a sleepless night, Emily looked up at her ceiling and thought about her nightmare.

It had been about the case they had recently worked on. The reason she was now in so much pain. A man was kidnapping and torturing women and that man happened to be an officer that was working on the case with them. While she was looking over one of the crime scenes, a house of one of the victims, she had gotten a call from Hotch telling her that the officer she was with was the unsub. Before she had time to react to this information, she had been knocked over the head. The officer had failed to knock her out though. As she tried to get up, she was kicked in the side several times. Her gun had been taken away as she laid on the floor but she knew that the officer wasn't going to shoot her. He loved enforcing his power over women by beating them. She wasn't expecting any different now. As the man had pulled her to her feet by her hair, she had elbowed him in the side and a fight between them had started. It ended with her tackling him through a window as a last resort. He had fallen unconscious from the impact and she had cuffed him just as her team arrived.

Now here she was with four broken ribs, bruises on her face as well as several other places, a concussion and an aching body. She hated when she had nightmares about cases that she had worked on. The woman prided herself on being able to compartmentalize things like this. She didn't need her subconscious messing that up.

Sleep probably wasn't going to come easier to her now and she wasn't content with lying in bed doing nothing. Sucking up the pain, Emily got out of bed slowly and made her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and searched it for something to drink. Settling for beer, she pulled a bottle out of the fridge.

JJ who had been resting on the living room couch, heard Emily moving around and decided to check on her. "You can't drink that, Emily."

Emily was startled by the sudden voice and had nearly dropped the beer. "Jesus, Jay-Jay. You scared the crap out of me." The brunette put a hand on her ribs. Being startled had caused her body to jolt and now her ribs were throbbing in pain.

JJ walked over to the woman and took the beer from her. "You have a concussion. Alcohol will have to wait until it's gone." She put the bottle back in the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "Here."

The brunette took the bottle of water. "I didn't know you were still here."

"I told you I was going to stay with you for a couple of days until you're better," JJ said.

"What about work?" Emily asked.

"Hotch got the team a week off," JJ said.

"Well, I'm sure you have better things to do than babysit me," Emily said. "You don't have to stay here."

"Stop trying to get rid of me, Em. I'm not going anywhere. So how are you feeling?"

"Like a deranged cop played soccer with my ribs." The profiler opened the bottle of water and sipped it. "Everything hurts."

JJ gestured behind her. "Your pain meds are in the living room." She turned around and left to get them and Emily followed behind her. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I was," Emily said. "Didn't last long though."

JJ took the pills from the bottle and then held them out for Emily to take.

Emily took the pills and swallowed them down with her water. "Thanks."

"Are you going to head back to sleep?"

"No, I'm not that tired anymore."

"Well, want to sit? I'll keep you company."

The thought of trying to get comfortable on the couch with how badly she was hurting didn't sit well with the brunette. "How about we lay down in my room?"

JJ nodded. "That works." She went with the woman to her bedroom. Tonight had been the first time that she had been in Emily's home. In the eight months that she had known the profiler, she had never invited her, or anyone else for that matter, over to her condo. Emily was a private woman and everyone respected that. It didn't keep them from wondering about the woman's personal life though. They just didn't understand why Emily kept so many things to herself. She was close friends with them all and everyone adored her. She should've known by now that she could confide in them whenever she needed to.

The media liaison got onto the bed and watched as Emily slowly joined her. "Do you need help?"

"I got it." Emily got onto the bed and hoped it would be her last time needing to move for awhile. "So what do you want to do?"

"We can talk." JJ knew the likelihood of Emily wanting to do that was slim to none if the conversation was too personal, but it was worth a shot.

"What about?"

"Life. Your life. You never talk much about it."

"There's not much to talk about."

JJ chuckled. "That's hard to believe. You speak several languages, you've been to various countries and have experienced plenty of things. Your life is anything but dull. I'm sure you can find something to talk about."

"Despite all that, my life really is dull," Emily admitted. "I go to work and come home. That's pretty much it."

"What do you do for fun?" JJ wasn't going to let Emily escape that easily. She really wanted to find out more about the mysterious brunette.

"I read. See? Dull."

JJ rolled over so that she was on her side facing Emily. She propped her head up with her hand and looked at her friend. "Do you have a book that's a guilty pleasure? Something you wouldn't want anyone to know you've read?"

Emily turned her head so that she could see the blonde. "If I didn't want anyone to know that I read it, why would I tell you?"

JJ smirked. "Because I'm cute?" The blonde felt triumphant when she saw a genuine smile appear on Emily's usually serious face.

"I don't know if that's enough for me to tell you."

"Oh, come on," JJ said. "It's just me. I won't say a word to anyone."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I swear if you give Morgan a reason to joke on me, I'll never tell you anything again."

"Okay, deal," JJ said. "but if it's 'Twilight' I might not be able to keep that promise."

"It's not 'Twight.' I read 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' comic books."

JJ laughed. She definitely wasn't expecting to hear that. She thought maybe the woman indulged herself in the 'Harry Potter' books. "Comic books?"

"Just the 'Buffy' comics," Emily said.

"You reading comics? That's cute. Not what I was expecting."

"Well tell me something about yourself that no one else knows," Emily said. "What's one of your guilty pleasures?"

"Taking a shower and then putting on pajamas so I can spend the day doing absolutely nothing. It's great."

Emily could picture the media liaison lounging around at home on a weekend or during one of their rare days off. She didn't want to take that away from the blonde, but she knew there was no way that JJ would go home and leave her to take care of herself. "That's too tame. What else you got?"

JJ laughed. "That's not too tame. I stay at home all day and stuff my face with brownies and watch TV. So, new topic. If you weren't working at the BAU, what would you be doing?"

"I'd probably be doing something FBI related," Emily said.

"You're not going to make this easy for me are you," JJ sighed. "What'd you want to do before the FBI was ever on your radar?"

"Nothing." Emily knew JJ would probably know she was lying but this wasn't a topic she wanted to delve into. "It's always been the FBI for me."

JJ wanted to push but she knew that would just cause the brunette to close up even more. "Fair enough. For awhile I wanted to be a soccer player and then I wanted to be a news anchor. Never thought I'd end up working for the FBI. I love it though. Helping people is something I've always loved to do. I was a camp counselor for awhile when I was younger. When those girls came to talk to me and they left with a smile on their face or at least feeling a little better, I felt accomplished."

"Well you do a damn good job at what you do now," Emily said, sincerely. "I know it's not something I could ever do well enough."

"Thanks," JJ said. "You're a good profiler. And I'm not just saying that because you complimented me. I mean it."

"Thank you." Emily felt herself getting tired and her eyes began to close.

"You should get some sleep. I'll be out in the living room if you need anything," JJ said.

"You can sleep here. I don't mind," Emily said. "Unless you'd prefer the couch."

"Here's fine," JJ said. The blonde got herself comfortable in the bed and as she laid there her thoughts went to the brunette beside her. She wondered if there was anyway to break down the barrier that stopped Emily from allowing herself to open up to others. If there was a way, then she was determined to find it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The next morning JJ was looking around Emily's condo as the brunette slept. The majority of the pictures that the woman had in her condo were of nature. she noticed there were none of the people in her life. She found that to be odd and told herself she would ask Emily about it later. The condo was neat. Nothing compared to where she lived. Her house, much like her office, was an organized mess. She had a feeling if she even moved one thing out of place the brunette would notice.

Deciding she had looked at all there was to look at, JJ headed back to Emily's room to see if the brunette was awake yet. She didn't see the woman in bed but she did hear the shower running. She was sure that it had been painful for Emily to get her clothes off without help because of her broken ribs. She didn't understand why the woman wouldn't just make things easier on herself and ask for help. Actually, she did understand. Emily Prentiss was too stubborn and independent to even think about letting anyone see her at her worse. Sighing, JJ left the bedroom and headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Emily entered the kitchen and saw JJ pouring juice into a glass. The blonde looked up and smiled when she saw her friend. The woman was wearing a red v-neck t-shirt and black sweatpants. Her damp hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The bruises on her face couldn't even hide how beautiful the woman was.

"You look good in red," JJ stated, offhandedly as she placed the juice carton back into the fridge. "I've always meant to tell you that."

"Thanks." Emily looked down at the t-shirt she had thrown on without much thought.

"You're welcome. You're just in time for breakfast." She handed the glass she was holding to Emily. "Where do you want to eat?" JJ handed Emily her plate.

"The living room works for me."

JJ went into the living room with her friend and they sat down on the couch. Emily wincing as she tried to get comfortable didn't go unnoticed by the media liaison. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Emily said. "Just a little sore."

JJ set her plate and drink on the coffee table. "Do you need your pain medication?"

"No, I don't need it. I'm feeling a lot better than yesterday." That was a small lie that the brunette hoped JJ would overlook.

"Liar. Are you sure you don't need them? How's your head?" JJ asked.

"Jay-Jay, I'm fine. Just a little sore like I said."

The blonde decided not to push the subject and changed the topic. "How was your shower?"

"It was relaxing. Very much needed," Emily said. "Thanks for making breakfast, by the way. You didn't have to go through the trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble," JJ said. "Besides, I'm hungry so I really making breakfast for myself," she joked.

As the two sat and enjoyed their breakfast, JJ thought about the pictures in Emily's condo.

"You know you don't have any pictures of anyone in this place. Just numerous pictures of the ocean, mountains and stuff like that."

"Yeah, I know," Emily said before eating a piece of her pancake.

JJ waited for the brunette to finish eating, thinking maybe she would explain to her why that was. When that moment never came, she asked about it. "So why is that?"

"Why is what?" Emily asked.

JJ fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was sure the woman could avoid a plague if she wanted to. She was good at being evasive. "Why do you not have pictures of anyone in your life around your condo?"

The profiler knew that JJ was probably too curious to let this one go so she answered the best she could. "People come and go too quickly from my life for me to capture them." Forgetting at that moment that her ribs were broken, Emily went to stand up a little too quickly.

"Shit." The brunette stopped her movement and rested back down on the couch.

JJ put her plate down and placed her hand on Emily's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I forgot they were broken," Emily said.

"Sit back and relax." JJ took Emily's empty plate and set it down. "Are you sure you don't want your medication?"

"Yeah," Emily answered. "I'm okay."

Once JJ was sure Emily was all right, she thought back to what the woman had said about people coming and going too quickly from her life for her to capture them. She wanted to ask about it. She wanted the brunette to open up to her. Deciding it would only upset her friend, she decided to let it go like she usually did. "Garcia wants to stop by later to check on you. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, she can come by." Garcia was always nice to have around. Her perkiness could put a smile on anyone's face. The woman might also keep JJ busy so that she wouldn't keep asking her questions about her personal life throughout the day.

"Great, I'll text her to let her know and then I'm going to jump into the shower," JJ said. "Is that okay?"

"That's perfectly fine," Emily said. "I'll just be here."

* * *

A few minutes had passed and Emily was still sitting in the living room. Her mind had trailed off to thoughts about JJ. She considered the woman to be one of the best friends she ever had. She saw the whole team that way. She just wasn't sure if it was the right assumption to make that they felt the same way about her. She had joined the BAU eight months ago but she still couldn't help but think that she was intruding. Everyone had been great to her, but she couldn't shake the feeling. Even Rossi who had been retired and came back after she had joined the team seemed to fit in better than she did.

A knock at the door broke Emily from her thoughts. Guessing it was Garcia, she carefully stood up and went to go open it without bothering to look through the peep hole. When she saw her mother standing there she wished she had looked first.

Ambassador Prentiss brought her hand up to cup Emily's chin. She tilted the woman's head to the side to examine her bruises. "These look horrendous. Are you all right?"

"I've had worse," Emily said as she stepped aside to let her mother in. "How'd you know that I had been hurt?"

"I heard about it on the news last night and I called your cell phone. Some woman answered and said that you were going to be fine. I was going to come right over but she said that you were resting and that she was watching you."

"Oh, Jay-Jay didn't say anything about you coming over."

"She didn't know," the Ambassador said. "I thought I'd at least stop by for a few minutes to see how you were doing. If I had told her I was coming, she would've told you and I'm sure you would've conveniently not been home."

Emily heard JJ's voice from a few feet away. "Hey, Em, can I borrow something to wear? I left my go-bag in my car." JJ found the brunette standing near the front door with her mother and wanted to crawl into a hole.

Emily couldn't help but check out the blonde as she stood before her in a small towel. Jennifer Jareau was breathtakingly gorgeous.

Ambassador Prentiss didn't even blink at seeing the woman. She simply smiled and greeted her. "Hi, you're the one I spoke to on the phone, right?"

JJ nodded. "Yes, that was me. I'm so sorry about my current state. I didn't realize anyone else was here."

"Oh, it's fine." The woman looked at her daughter. "She's quite lovely, Emily. I didn't realize that you were dating anyone."

Emily's eyes grew wide at those words. "No, Mom. She's just a friend. We work together. There's nothing going on here."

"My apologies for making the assumption," she said, casually. "Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were doing all right. I'll call you later." Ambassador Prentiss placed a kiss on her daughter's cheek and said goodbye to JJ before leaving the condo.

"That was utterly embarrassing," JJ muttered.

"Sorry about her," Emily said, hoping JJ hadn't caught on to the fact that her mother asked if they were dating. She knew that was just wishful thinking though. "I'll get you something to put on." The brunette headed off to her bedroom.

Once she was dressed, JJ went to the living room to speak to Emily about what had happened earlier. She sat down across from the woman and smiled at her.

Emily frowned at her friend. "What are you smiling about?"

"Are you dating someone? You can tell me. I won't tell anyone."

"I'm not dating anyone," Emily said. "I'm completely single."

JJ rolled her eyes. "You expect me to believe a beautiful woman like you doesn't have a girlfriend or at least a crush?"

Emily was surprised that JJ wasn't questioning her about being gay or asking her why she hadn't mentioned it before. The media liaison wasn't fazed at all. She was also surprised that the woman had said she was beautiful. "It's the truth. I'm not seeing anyone."

JJ sighed. "It's hard to date with the job we have isn't it? I was hoping you would have at least found the time so I could live vicariously through you."

The profiler smiled. "Sorry, no such luck."

"When was your last relationship?" JJ asked.

"Five months ago," Emily said. "It lasted about two weeks. She didn't like my job."

JJ smirked. "I get that one a lot too. No one understands why I do what I do so they hate it. They'd rather me work at a "normal" job. They don't get that by doing my job, I'm saving lives and possibly theirs. All they know is that I can't make it to dinner for the third time in a row."

Emily smiled. "I know what you mean."

JJ and Emily got into a full blown conversation about their disastrous past relationships and when Garcia arrived, they continued with it. JJ enjoyed seeing Emily smile while trying not to laugh due to her broken ribs. Every now and then though, a laugh would escape from the brunette and she would curse her or Garcia for making it happen. JJ wanted to see the profiler smile and hear her laugh more often. It was a beautiful sight and sound. At that moment she decided that she was going to make that happen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Garcia gave Emily a light hug and then a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for having me over. I hope you're in less pain tomorrow. Sleep with the teddy bear I gave you. It'll make you feel better."

Emily was definitely not sleeping with a teddy bear. She was a grown woman. She did appreciate the thought though. "Thanks Garcia. I'll see you again soon."

JJ placed her hand on Emily's shoulder. "I'll be right back. I'm going to walk her out and get my go-bag." The blonde walked out of the condo with Garcia and they headed for the elevator.

"That was fun," Garcia smiled. "And I totally called it about Emily being gay."

JJ frowned. "You knew?"

Garcia gave JJ a 'duh' look. "Of course I did. I am the fountain of knowledge after all."

"Why didn't you tell me?" JJ asked. "I was totally clueless."

"Okay well, I didn't really know. I just had a hunch. Besides, I didn't want to do the whole gossip thing."

The media liaison raised an eyebrow. "You always want to do the gossip thing."

"Not when it comes to our broody profiler," Garcia stated. "I think she'd kill me if she ever heard me gossiping about her. But since we're on the topic now, did you notice how she didn't say anything while we were talking about our childhood."

JJ pressed the down button on the elevator. "Yeah, I did notice, but it's not much of a surprise. We all know she's a private person."

"But we were talking about our childhood." Garcia stepped onto the elevator when the doors opened. "Why is she private about her childhood? Nothing scandalous happens when you're nine."

JJ sighed. Garcia was right. Emily was always quick to shut them out and it hurt. She hadn't said anything to the brunette, but she was upset that she hadn't told her that she was gay. No one would've shunned her because of it. Nothing would've changed between them. The blonde shrugged. "The woman likes her privacy."

"Well I don't know about you, but I'd like to see the side of her that she keeps hidden." The two women stepped off the elevator and left the building to go to Garcia's car. "Someone needs to take a ballista to that woman's walls."

"I'm planning on it."

Garcia grinned. "Oh, what's brewing in that pretty little head of yours?"

"I'm going to spend time trying to get to know her better," JJ said. "Whatever it takes for her to open up, I'm going to do it."

"You, my dear, have a long road ahead of you, but I'm sure you can do it."

"I hope so," JJ said. "This is bordering on mission impossible."

Garcia laughed. "You have to be more optimistic than that. Anyway, I'll let you get back to Emily. Call me."

"I will." JJ watched Garcia get into her car and drive off before she got her go-bag from her own car. She headed back up to Emily's condo and found the brunette in the living room watching TV.

JJ sat her bag down beside the couch before sitting next to Emily. "You were quiet during a majority of the conversation with Garcia. Are you okay?"

Emily glanced away from the TV to look at JJ. "Yeah, I'm-,"

"What? Fine? I'm not buying that Emily. As soon as we started talking about things we did as a kid, you got quiet. Why do you do that?"

"Why do I do what?"

JJ took the remote from Emily and turned off the TV. "You don't talk about yourself. When it comes to your personal life you just shut down."

"There's not much to talk about."

"Nothing at all?" JJ knew she was pushing but she wanted to see how far she could get before Emily changed the topic. "What'd you do as a kid?"

"Nothing, Jay-Jay." Emily was becoming irritated by the p woman's persistence. "I played the piano because my dad wanted me to, I spent time with the kids of powerful parents because my mom wanted me to and I excelled in school because it would look bad if my parents had a daughter who was anything but superior in the things she did. I've never been to an amusement park. I didn't have a lot of friends since I was always moving so I spent most of my time alone. I didn't have a great childhood. So like I said, there's not much to talk about."

JJ raised an eyebrow at the woman. "You've never been to an amusement park? Have you ever wanted to?"

"I wanted to when I was a kid," Emily said.

"Okay, this is unacceptable." JJ stood up from the couch and bent down beside her go-bag. She pulled out a small notepad and a pen from it. "Here."

Emily furrowed her brows in confusion but took the items. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You are going to make a list of ten things that you wanted to do as a kid but never got to do and things that you want to do now that you haven't gotten the chance to do yet."

"And what's the purpose of that?"

"We're going to do them," JJ said.

"Jay-Jay," Emily began.

"Don't Jay-Jay me," the blonde said. "Do it. You've been deprived long enough Emily Prentiss. It's time for you to enjoy life."

Emily rolled her eyes. "This is stupid."

"It's not stupid. Now stop arguing and write."

"I'll need time to think about what I want on it," Emily said.

"Well your ribs should be healed in about six weeks so that's how long I'll give you to write it. That's more than enough time."

"You're bossy," Emily muttered.

JJ smirked. "Would you have me any other way?"

Emily smiled at the woman. "No, no I wouldn't."

"Good."

Emily placed the notepad and pen beside her on the couch. "I'll work on the list later. Want to join me for some crappy TV?"

"Sure." JJ sat down on the couch.

As Emily pretended to be paying attention to the show that was on, she thought about the things that she would put on her list if she decided to actually make it.

* * *

Emily entered the BAU for the first time in three weeks and as she made her way to her desk, she immediately saw the balloons tied to the armrest of her chair and smiled. Those had to be from Garcia.

Morgan smiled from his desk when he saw the profiler. "Hey, it's good to see you back in this place. Enjoy the time off?"

"I missed working too much to enjoy anything," Emily admitted.

"I want to break my ribs so I can go partying," Morgan said.

"Trust me. You'll want to do anything but party."

Morgan grinned. "I can dance through the pain."

"I believe that." Emily sat down at her desk just as Reid entered the bullpen. "Hey Reid."

The young man smiled at seeing Emily back at work. "Hi Emily. It's good to have you back. How are you?"

"I'm happy to be back," the brunette said.

"Nice balloons. Garcia?"

Emily nodded. "Who else? I should go thank her." The brunette stood back up and headed to the technical analyst's office. She knocked on the door and pushed it open. "Garcia?"

Garcia got up from her desk immediately and went to give Emily a hug. "Hello my lovely. Are you back to one hundred percent?"

"Not exactly. I still have some time before I'm fully healed, but I'm well enough to come back to work."

"Just try to avoid getting hurt again," Garcia said. "We missed you around here."

Emily smiled at the thought of being missed. "I'll try my best. Is JJ here yet?"

"Yeah, she should be holed up in her office."

"I'm going to go say hi. Thanks for the balloons."

"You're very welcome."

Emily left the office and headed up to see JJ. It had been a few days since she had seen the woman, but they had talked on the phone last night. After a week of staying with her, JJ had gone back to work but she always stopped by to check on her before going home. The last few days though, the team had been busy with a case. She knocked on the open office door and smiled at the woman when she looked up to see who it was. "Hey."

JJ smiled. "Hey you. I know you're glad to be back."

"I am," Emily said. "I can't believe how much I've missed this place."

The media liaison smirked at Emily's attempt to say that she missed the team without actually saying it. "You've been missed. Reid keeps trying to talk to us about nerdy stuff but only you can stand to listen to it for more than five minutes."

Emily laughed. She embraced her inner nerd and she was glad to have someone on the team that she could relate to in that way. "Well, I just wanted to say hi. I should go talk to Hotch and Rossi."

"One sec," JJ said. "Did you make the list?"

"The list?" Emily knew exactly what the woman was talking about. She had decided she didn't want to make one and was hoping JJ would have forgotten about it.

"You didn't did you?" JJ stared the woman down.

Emily sighed. "Okay, I didn't, but only because it seemed pointless."

"It's not pointless," JJ said. "We're going to do the things you write down. Don't think you can get out of it because you can't. And to help you out, I'll give you a number ten thing to do. This weekend we're going to the amusement park with the team."

"Don't you think we're too old to be going to an amusement park?"

"Nope," JJ said. "I want that list done before C.O.B today. Got it?"

"All right, by close of business today, I'll have it done. I'll see you later." The brunette exited the office and let out a sigh. She couldn't believe that she was letting JJ talk her into making the stupid list. She shouldn't be too surprised though. She would do anything for the media liaison.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

JJ left her office and saw that Emily was still working. She approached the woman and the brunette looked up from the file she was reading.

"I didn't think anyone would still be here," JJ said. "What's keeping you busy?"

"Just thought I'd work on a few more profiles before I went home," Emily said. She didn't have anything to look forward to when she got to her condo so she always stayed at work a little longer to pass time. "What are you still doing here?"

JJ sighed. "I lost track of time. You know the work never ends. There's always something that needs to be done."

"The life of a BAU agent," Emily said. "Gotta love it."

"Speaking of life," JJ said. "How'd that list go?"

Emily picked a folded piece of paper up from her desk. "I've got it right here." JJ went to take it but Emily held it out of her reach. "You'll get to hear what number nine is on this list if the amusement park isn't a horrible experience."

JJ nodded. "Okay, that's fair. And it's not going to be a horrible experience. You're going to love it."

"We'll see about that." Emily closed the folder in front of her and stood up. "Heading home for the night?"

"Yeah," JJ said. "What do you have planned?"

"Nothing really. I'll probably curl up with a good book."

"Oh, exciting," JJ said, jokingly.

Emily nudged the blonde playfully. "And what do you plan to do?"

"I'm going to a friend's house to see a movie," JJ answered.

"That should be fun."

"Yeah, it should be. So what movie do you want to watch?" JJ grinned.

The brunette smiled. "The friend is me?"

JJ nodded. "Yep. So what do you say? Me, you and a movie at your place?"

"Yeah, why not? Sounds good."

* * *

As JJ went through Emily's DVD collection, she stopped on _Wild Things. _Smiling, she pulled the DVD off the shelf and headed over to the couch where Emily was eating her dinner. "Wild Things?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "It's a guilty pleasure."

"I'm sure you just watch it for Neve Campbell," JJ teased. "Is she your type?"

"I don't really have a specific type when it comes to appearance," Emily said.

Not expecting Emily to give her anymore information voluntarily, JJ continued to talk. "Well, what kind of girl do you usually date?"

"Brunettes, but I really just look for someone who is intelligent, funny, independent and caring. I especially love women who have a no bullshit attitude and are easy to talk to."

"That sounds like a good type to have." JJ went back to perusing Emily's movies.

_Yeah. _Emily thought. _Jennifer Jareau is definitely a good type to have. _

_

* * *

_

Halfway through the movie, JJ had fallen asleep and her head was now resting on Emily's shoulder. The brunette didn't want to move from the position. She liked being this close to JJ. It was nice. She had been harboring a crush on JJ for about the amount of time that she knew her. The blonde was captivating and Emily found herself always fantasizing what it would be like to one day just take her and pull her in for a kiss. The profiler let out a breath. Why did she have to fall for her good friend and co-worker? Why not the pretty cashier from the café near her job who always put extra cream in her coffee so she didn't have to? Or the attractive jogger who smiles at her whenever she sees her on the weekend? Why did it have to be JJ?

The brunette felt her friend shift on the couch and then felt her head leave her shoulder. "Hey there."

JJ ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry I fell asleep on you, Em. Literally. I didn't realize I was so tired."

"It's okay," Emily said. "We can watch the movie another time." The brunette reached over to the lamp by the couch and turned it on.

The blonde looked at her watch as she yawned. "I should head home."

"You're too tired," Emily said. "You could stay the night here. I wouldn't mind."

JJ gave the woman a grateful look. "Thank you. You're the best."

The brunette smirked. "Yeah, I hear that from time to time."

JJ laughed and stood up from the couch. "I'm sure you do. Are you staying up or going to bed?"

"I'm going to stay up a little longer," Emily said. "You go ahead. I'll try not to wake you when I go to bed."

"Okay, night."

The profiler watched the woman leave the room and sighed. Sharing a bed with JJ always made her imagination run wild. What she wouldn't give to feel the blonde's skin against hers. Emily rolled her eyes at herself. "Don't do this to yourself, Emily. It's never going to happen." The profiler had tried on many occasions to extract all dirty thoughts of JJ from her head, but it was to no avail. She wanted the woman, and not just sexually. She wanted to delve into JJ's mind and find out all there was to know about her.

The brunette picked up her book from the coffee table and laid down to read it, hoping it would keep her thoughts off her friend for awhile. She would then go to bed wishing she could wrap her arms around JJ like she had the previous nights the woman had spent the night.

* * *

The next morning, JJ had woken up earlier than she needed to so she took the opportunity to get her go-bag from her car before taking a quick shower and getting ready for work. She had seen Emily asleep on the couch with a book on her chest and thought it was adorable. After she was done getting ready, she went out to the living room to wake Emily up.

JJ picked up the book and placed it on the table before gently shaking Emily. The brunette's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at her friend.

"Hey, it's time to get up," JJ said.

Emily groaned as she sat up. "My back hates me right now."

The blonde gave the brunette a sympathetic look. "Well if you take a quick shower, I can massage out the kinks for you before we go to work."

The thought of JJ's hands on her made Emily's mind instantly imagine the wonderful things that it could lead to, but she came back to her senses, knowing it would never happen. "That's okay. I'll be all right." Emily stood up. "Are you leaving for work now?"

"Yeah, I'll probably head over there now, but when you get there we can leave to have breakfast at that café nearby if you want."

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you when I get to work," Emily said before heading to her room.

JJ was getting ready to leave the condo when she heard Emily's cell phone begin to ring. She went over to it and looked at the caller ID. "Hey, Emily! Your mom is calling!"

"Can you answer it for me?" Emily yelled back.

JJ picked the phone up from the table and answered it. "Hi, Ambassador Prentiss. Emily's actually taking a shower right now but she'll call you back when she's done."

"Is this Jay-Jay? Emily's friend?"

"Yeah, that'd be me," JJ said.

"Well you have a nice day."

"You too, Ambassador," JJ said before hanging up.

* * *

Emily was on her way to work when she decided to call her mom to see what the woman wanted. She was surprised that she was calling her. It was a rare thing for the woman to do out of the blue.

"Hello?" Elizabeth Prentiss answered.

"Hi, Mom. Jay-Jay said you called."

"Are you sure you and that woman aren't dating?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Emily said. "We're just friends. I've told you that."

"Then why does she always answer your phone?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "She's answered my phone twice. That doesn't mean anything."

"It means you spend a lot of time together."

"Yeah, because we work together and we're friends. That is it."

"Well why aren't you dating?"

"Because Mom," Emily sighed. "I'm not Jay-Jay's type."

Ambassador Prentiss scoffed. "Does she think she's too good for you? The next time I speak with that woman, I have a word or two for her. She'll never find better than a Prentiss."

"Mom, Jay-Jay is straight. Anyway, why did you call?"

"I wanted us to have lunch," Elizabeth said. "It's been awhile since we've spent time together."

"Um, okay. I can do that," Emily said. "I'll call you later with a place and time."

"Great. I'll see you in a few hours. Bye dear."

Emily set her phone down and sighed. She was sure lunch with her mother would prove to be an interesting time. She knew there had to be a reason behind the woman wanting to see her and part of her was afraid to find out what it was.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Emily was sitting in a restaurant having lunch with her mother. They had talked about many different things, but Emily had yet to find out why the woman wanted to have lunch with her.

"Mom why did you want to have lunch?" Emily asked before sipping her water.

Elizabeth dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "Can't I just want to have lunch with my daughter?"

The brunette shook her head. "No. There has to be some underlying reason behind this. You've never called me just to have lunch."

"That's not true," Elizabeth said.

"It is true, Mom," Emily said. "So what's wrong? You're not sick are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm in perfect health. I merely wanted to spend time with my daughter. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, it's fine with me. I just want to know what sprung it on."

"Like you said, we don't spend time together. I want us to connect on a deeper level."

Emily had to stop herself from laughing. "Thirty years of not spending quality time together and now it bothers you?"

The ambassador sighed and set down her fork. "I ran into an old friend the other day and she asked me questions about you. I had to make up the answers."

"I hope you didn't make up anything embarrassing," Emily said.

"Anyway, I realized then that I really don't know much about my daughter besides the fact that she loves to play the piano."

"I hate playing the piano," Emily corrected.

"Don't be silly. You've always loved it."

"No, I haven't," Emily said. "I played because of dad."

"See? I know nothing about you. I want us to spend time together at least once a week."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Mother-daughter bonding? Are you serious? Is your therapist making you do this?"

"Don't be absurd, Emily. I'm not in therapy."

Emily knew it was absurd. There was no way that her mother would go to therapy. To her, it would mean she was weak and a Prentiss didn't show their weaknesses. "Okay, fine. Once a week."

The woman smiled. "Great. We can do something this Saturday."

"I can't this weekend," Emily said. "I have plans, and doesn't today count as spending time together?"

"Plans with whom?" Elizabeth asked. "Are you going on a date?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "No I'm not going on a date."

"Dear, I'm not getting any younger. I want to see you with someone and I want a grandchild."

Emily ignored her mother's words. She couldn't remember one time she spoke to the woman without her bringing up her love life.

"What are you doing on Saturday?" Elizabeth asked again.

"I have plans with the team," Emily said. "We're going to hangout."

"Jay-Jay?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, Mom. I said the team. The whole team."

"But Jay-Jay's on your team isn't she?"

"You know she is." Emily wondered where her mother was going with this.

"Maybe you don't have a girlfriend because you spend too much time with Jay-Jay. Women probably think you're taken. You know, I have a friend with a daughter who is gay. Or at least I think she's gay. She's very tomboyish."

"That doesn't mean she's gay," Emily said.

"You were tomboyish and you're gay," Elizabeth pointed out.

"I don't want you setting me up." Emily's cell phone rang and she was glad to hear it. She pulled it out of her pocket and put it to her ear. "Agent Prentiss."

"Hey, sorry to interrupt your lunch but we have a case," JJ said.

"I'll be right there," Emily said before hanging up. She looked at her mother. "I have to go."

"So soon?" Elizabeth asked.

"We have a case." Emily stood up. "Um, I'll call you."

"And if you happen to forget, then I'll call you," Elizabeth said. "And do be careful, dear. You know I could get you a safer job. I'm not thrilled with the idea of you chasing psychos for a living."

"I love my job," Emily said. "Have a good day. I'm sure I'll see you later." The profiler headed to her car. She was going to start having to carry a bottle of the strongest alcohol around if she was going to be spending time with her mother.

* * *

JJ was standing in front of her team, briefing them on their current case. Fifty year-old, Anthony Walker, twenty-nine year-old, Kevin Jameson and thirty-two year-old, Denise Perry had had each been stabbed in the chest and found naked in the woods of a small town in South Carolina. The only thing on them was a cross and they each had a word carved on their stomach. It appeared that they had all been murdered on different days but dumped in the woods on the same night.

JJ pressed a button on her remote to change the picture on the slide. "Anthony Walker had the word wife-beater on his stomach. Kevin Jameson had the word adulterer on his. And alcoholic was carved on Denise Perry."

"I think it's kind of obvious where this one is heading," Morgan said. "Three victims left naked in the woods with a scarlet letter thing going on. He wants to humiliate them and expose them for who they really are."

"And their strongest connection is that they attended the same church," Reid added. "Maybe our unsub thinks he's playing God."

"And he obviously knows his victims," Morgan said. "He knows personal information about them."

"It's a small town," JJ said. "Everyone knows everyone's business."

"All right, everyone get ready," Hotch said. "I want to be out of here in less than twenty minutes."

The team left the conference room but Emily stayed behind with JJ as the blonde gathered her things.

"My mom wants to spend more time with me," Emily said.

"That's a good thing, right?" JJ asked as she placed papers from the case in a folder.

"I'm not sure yet. We usually start to get on each other's nerves after more than thirty minutes together."

JJ smiled. "I'm sure it'll do you some good to spend some time with your mom."

"We'll see. I'm going to get my things straightened up and get ready to go."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few," JJ said.

* * *

After being filled in by the lead detective on the case, Hotch began to break his team up so that they could get to work.

"Jay-Jay and Reid, you two go talk to the families of the victims. Rossi and Emily, you two go to the church and speak with the priest. Morgan, you're with me at the crime scene."

Emily stiffened when she heard where she would be going. She hadn't set foot in a church in fifteen years and she really didn't want to go now. _I can't get like this. I have a job to do. _

Noticing how uncomfortable the brunette had become, JJ waited for the team to disperse before she pulled Reid aside to ask him for a favor. "Do you think you could ask Hotch if you can go to the church instead?"

Reid frowned. "Sure, but why?"

"Didn't you notice how tense Emily got when Hotch told her she'd be going there?"

Reid shook his head. "I wasn't watching her. I'll go talk to him though."

JJ watched Reid go over to Hotch and hoped the man would allow the change. She watched her boss nod and then look over at Emily.

"Prentiss, Reid wants to check out the church. Is it okay with you if he goes with Rossi instead?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Emily felt the tension leave her body.

"That leaves you with me," JJ said. "Hope you aren't tired of me yet."

Emily smiled over at the media liaison. "I don't think that's possible."

The team left the station to go to their respective destinations and as JJ walked with Emily to the car, she decided to see if she would surprise her by opening up to her.

"So you seemed pretty unnerved about having to go to the church," JJ said.

Emily stopped at the car and opened the door. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said before getting inside.

"Of course you don't," JJ muttered before getting into the car as well. "I saw you get tense. It bothered you."

"What? Are you a profiler now?"

"I'm skilled enough to know that you have a problem with church," JJ said. "Even if you were an atheist or something, it shouldn't get that reaction out of you. Did you have a bad experience or something?"

"Jay-Jay drop it." Emily didn't have anger or irritation in her voice. It was a gentle plea and she hoped her friend would honor it.

"Okay, sorry," JJ said as she started the car.

The rest of the ride was filled with small talk about Emily's lunch with her mom. JJ was glad that the woman didn't shut down and stay silent through the drive. It was what she had been expecting. Maybe there was a small hole in the walls she kept up. A very small hole. She still had a ways to go until she broke them down, but she had a feeling their trip to the amusement park in a few days would help with that.

* * *

A/N: I know, I know. The amusement park chapter needs to happen soon. It will after the case.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

JJ and Emily were sitting in the living room of their first victim, Anthony Walker. When Mrs. Walker had answered the door, they had noticed her fading black eye immediately. It appeared what was written on her husband was true.

"Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your husband?" JJ asked.

Mrs. Walker shook her head. "He was a good man. Everyone loved him."

Emily didn't know how the woman could sit there and tell them that he was a good man while sporting a black eye he had given her. "What happened to your eye, Mrs. Walker?"

The woman brought her hand up to the bruise as she averted her eyes. "Um, I was trying to open a bottle and ended up pulling the top off too hard. My hand flew up and hit me. It's quite embarrassing."

JJ had to admit that was more original than "I fell" but she still wasn't buying it. "You can be honest with us. We're just trying to help. Did your husband hit you?"

"He was a good man," Mrs. Walker repeated her words from earlier. "I won't speak ill of him."

"We're not asking you to say anything bad about him," Emily assured her. "We just want to know the truth so we can figure out who killed him."

"We want to bring his killer to justice," JJ added. "Please talk to us."

The woman brought her hand up to her cross and began to fiddle with it. "Yes, he hit me. Often. I don't know what it is I do that would set him off. I tried to be a better wife. I'm so glad my son is barely home to witness it."

"He should've never put a hand on you," JJ said. "Did you talk to anyone about it?"

Mrs. Walker shook her head. "I'm sure they all knew though. Gossip is everyone's hobby here."

"It was where I grew up too," JJ said.

"And where'd you grow up?" the woman asked.

"A small town in Pennsylvania. It was hard to hide anything from my parents because a neighbor or a friend of a friend's parents would tell them about it."

This caused Mrs. Walker to let out a light laugh. "That's exactly what it's like here."

"You mentioned your son," JJ said. "Where is he?"

"He spends all his time volunteering at the recreation center. He'll be going off to college once the summer is over. He wasn't close with his father so he's not torn up about his passing."

After a few more questions, JJ and Emily left the house to head to the next victim's place. They hoped to get more information that would help them at least tie someone in the victims' lives together.

* * *

Mrs. Jameson knew that her husband had been cheating on her and knew that everyone else knew it also.

"Divorce wasn't an option for me," Mrs. Jameson told the agents who were sitting in her living room. "I don't believe in it. My daughter needs both her parents."

"Where is your daughter now?" Emily asked.

"She's in her room. I don't know if she's up to talking to anyone."

"That's okay," Emily said. "How old is she?"

"Ten," Mrs. Jameson said. "I know hearing about how her father was cheating on me upset her."

"Kids can be cruel," JJ said.

Mrs. Jameson let out an acerbic laugh. "I'm talking about the adults of this town. She found out about him cheating because she overheard them whispering about it in church. You'd think they'd save it for another place and time but I guess good gossip is good gossip no matter where it's being told."

"I'm sorry to have to ask this," JJ began. "But do you know the name of the woman your husband was seeing?"

The woman sighed. "All I know is that she lived outside of this town in the city somewhere. He told me he had left her so we could work on our marriage. I don't know if he actually stayed true to his word. I guess I was fine living in oblivion."

JJ and Emily thanked the woman for her time and apologized for her loss before leaving the house.

Emily made a quick call to Garcia so that the woman could find out who Kevin Jameson called the most on his cell phone. When they got a name and address of a Tiffany Shaw, she called Hotch to let him know.

When the two agents got into the car, JJ let out a sigh.

"Which part of this case is pissing you off?" Emily asked.

"They just stay," JJ said. "They're in horrible relationships and they don't do anything about it. And they both have kids. You would think they would leave so their children would at least be in a healthier environment. It's just upsetting to see."

"They're really religious people," Emily said. "They'd sooner stay in a terrible relationship than get divorced."

"It's ridiculous," JJ said. "I'm worried about what we're going to hear when we reach this next house."

* * *

While talking to Marcus Perry, JJ and Emily didn't find out much more than they did with the others. Denise Perry was an alcoholic and Marcus had been trying to get her the help she needed, but she would always relapse. He loved his wife and wanted to help her through her problem. He wanted their son to be able to see his mother how she used to be before her alcohol addiction.

The women were now back at the police station with the others trying to find a break in the case.

"All we have so far is that each victim had a child," Emily said. "I don't know if that's relevant or just a coincidence."

"We'll keep it in mind," Rossi said. "We didn't get much from Kevin Jameson's girlfriend either. She wasn't seeing anyone else but him and she didn't know he was married."

Hotch looked at Reid and Rossi. "What'd you two find out about the crosses?"

"No store here sells them," Reid said. "He's probably getting them from somewhere else. Online maybe."

"We need to get a profile up," Hotch said. "It might help."

"Well I'm thinking we're looking for someone who is seriously invested in the church," Rossi said. "They would be someone everyone gets along with. They would never suspect him. Our unsub is most likely upset with how these people don't follow the bible strictly so he wants to punish them."

"I don't know," Emily began. "I'm thinking it's someone who doesn't want anything to do with the church or religion. I don't think this has anything to do with playing God. Our unsub wants to humiliate people who put up a front that makes them seem better than they are. He's exposing their true colors probably to prove a point."

"We'll work with both profiles," Hotch said. "The priest fits one of them."

"I don't think he's our guy," Rossi said. "But questioning him some more wouldn't hurt."

Hotch looked around at his team. "We need to pick apart the lives of our victims. Know their schedules, the people they crossed on a daily basis and the places they went to. Jay-Jay don't release any information yet on the profiles until we can narrow it down. It's going to be a long day. Let's do all we can."

* * *

Emily was sitting in the police station talking on the phone with Garcia. "Thanks Garcia. You should get some sleep. We'll need you back to your perky self in the morning."

"Sleep sounds good," the tired tech analyst said. "Tell the others I said goodnight."

"Okay, night." Emily hung up the phone. "Garcia says goodnight."

Morgan looked at his watch. "I'm about to say goodnight. It's two in the morning and we have to be back here in a few hours. We need to rest."

The team had spent the day questioning people and cross-referencing all the information they knew about their victims to see if they had anything in common.

"You know kids usually know more than the adults do," JJ said. "They overhear things because no one pays them much mind."

"You think they'll know something?" Reid asked.

"It's worth a shot. We're not really getting anywhere with what we have now."

"We'll get on that first thing tomorrow," Hotch said. "Let's get some sleep."

* * *

The next morning, JJ entered the police station with two cups of coffee and a small brown bag in her hands. She had gone to Emily's room to wake her for breakfast but Reid had told her that the woman was already at the police station. She knew Emily felt emotionally tied to the case and she wanted to know why. She wouldn't push her for information though. Not until the case was over anyway.

"Did you even go to sleep?" JJ set the coffee cup down on the table in front of Emily.

Emily looked away from the white board where JJ had written information about the case. "Yeah, I managed to get three or four hours." The profiler picked up the coffee and sipped it. "That's delicious. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I got you a bagel too," she held up the brown bag.

Emily smiled as she took the bag. "Always looking after me."

JJ returned the smile. "Someone's got to."

"Well, I'm glad it's you," Emily sipped her coffee again. "You always get me the right kind of coffee."

The media liaison rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face. "And here I thought you were being sweet." She was glad to see that the brunette was being playful. A playful Emily always made her happy.

Hotch entered the small room and looked from Emily to JJ. "Two more bodies were found."

JJ looked at Emily. "Can you eat that on the go?"

"Seeing as how we're always on the go, I've perfected my skill of eating while doing pretty much anything." Emily stood up with her coffee and bag before leaving the station with the others.

* * *

Max and Tricia Russell had been murdered and left naked in the woods with a cross necklace on just like the others. Max had 'molester' carved onto his stomach while Tricia had the words, 'his protector' on hers. The team had surmised that Max had molested someone and Tricia hadn't said anything about it. There had been a difference in the murders though. The other three victims had gone missing for a period of time. The unsub didn't bother to kidnap his current victims. He had killed them in their homes before dropping them in the woods. He was devolving and the team needed to get to him soon before he hurt anyone else.

JJ was at the police station with Rachel Ferguson. The girl was the daughter of Tricia and the step-daughter of Max Russell. The girl liked to sleep with music playing so she hadn't heard the murder occur but JJ still wanted to know about the girl's step-father. Rachel wasn't speaking much though.

The media liaison stretched her hand out to touch Dana's hand. "You can talk to me, Dana. I need to know if your step-father hurt you and who knew besides you."

"I'm glad he's gone," Dana said. "I've been scared and this is the first time I've felt safe."

The media liaison couldn't blame the girl for feeling that way. "Who else knew?"

The girl looked down at the floor. "Ian and Father Michaels. My mother didn't believe me."

JJ knew who Father Michaels was because he had been questioned twice already. "Who's Ian?"

"Ian Davis. He volunteers at the recreation center. He's Zachary Walker's best friend. Parents don't like him but he's a nice person. He's been there for me when I need to talk."

"So he's easy to talk to?" JJ asked.

Dana nodded. "Everyone talks to Ian. He listens and he doesn't judge."

JJ thanked the girl and told her that her aunt and uncle would be at the station soon. She got up and went to Hotch to let him know what she found out.

An officer overheard her and joined the conversation. "Ian Davis? He's not too popular with the folks here."

"Why's that?" Hotch asked the cop.

"Vandalism, petty theft," the cop replied. "He was younger when all that happened though. He's gotten his act together now. He's a good kid. Just lost his way for awhile. His mother committed suicide and people started talking about it. All kinds of rumors surfaced about why she did it. That's when he started acting out. He and his dad haven't been to church since Claire, that's Ian's mother, died. You don't think he's the one doing this do you?"

"We don't know," JJ said. "But we're going to go talk to him."

"Well then you can definitely find him at the rec center," the officer said. "He's always there."

* * *

JJ and Emily didn't find Ian at the recreation center but they did find Zachary Walker and they decided to ask him a few questions about his friend.

"Ian's a great friend," Zach said. "I spent a lot of nights at his house. My dad and I didn't get along so I tried to stay out of the house as much as possible."

"You're here a lot?" Emily asked.

Zach nodded. "The rec center is like a home to me. Ian, too. The kids really love him. They tell him everything."

"Do you know which kids confided in him?" JJ asked.

Zach thought for a few seconds. "Elizabeth Jameson, Kyle Perry, Rachel Ferguson and a few others. Ian's easy to talk to."

"Yeah, I've heard," JJ said. "Thanks for your time."

JJ and Emily left the recreation center and got into their car.

"Ian is best friends with the first victim's son," JJ said. "He knew about Rachel's step-father molesting her and he probably knew about the situation with the other two kids."

"He might be our guy," Emily said. "I'll call Hotch and see if he can get us a warrant."

* * *

JJ rang the doorbell to Mr. Davis' house and waited for the man to answer. When he opened the door, she and Emily showed him their badges.

"Hi, Mr. Davis," JJ said. "I'm agent Jareau and this is agent Prentiss of the BAU. Is your son home?"

"The BAU?" the man frowned.

"The behavioral analysis unit," JJ said. "We're with the FBI. We have a warrant to search your house."

"A warrant?" the man asked. "Is this about those murders?"

"It is, yes," Emily said. "Can we speak to your son?"

Mr. Davis stepped aside to let them in. "I hope you don't think he has anything to do with those murders."

"Right now we just want to talk to him and look around," Emily said.

"I know every parent says it but my boy is good," Mr. Davis continued. "He's not without his flaws but murder isn't something he'd ever commit.

"Hey dad who was at the door?" Ian asked as he walked downstairs.

"Ian," Mr. Davis said. "These are agents Jareau and Prentiss from the FBI. They want to talk to you. You don't have to if you don't want to though."

Emily noticed the black eye and busted lip that the eighteen year-old had. "Get in a fight?"

"I'm pacifist," Ian said. "I got jumped by a few kids. They have it in their heads that I killed those people."

"Why would they think that?" JJ asked.

"Because I don't fit in," Ian said.

"Did you know any of the victims?" JJ asked.

"All of them. Not personally. I know their kids because I'm at the recreation center all the time."

"Why aren't you there now?" Emily asked.

Ian gestured to his face. "My dad doesn't want me leaving the house until the killer is caught. He thinks it won't just be a beating I get next time."

"Are you best friends with Zachary Walker?" Emily asked.

Ian nodded. "We volunteer at the recreation center together. His dad hated me. I don't know how Zach could stand living with such a self-righteous jerk. He always had something bad to say about someone. They all did. I get along with their kids just fine though. I see them at the rec center all the time. A lot of parents weren't happy with me volunteering there. They think I'm going to poison the minds of their children or something."

"How do you feel about religion?" Emily asked.

"It's something I want in my life," Ian said. "Right now I'm practicing Wicca. If I decide that it's not for me, then I will practice something else until I find what's right for me. My dad's a Christian and he's fine with me choosing my own religion. A majority of the people in this town don't approve of that. They're close-minded and they shove what they believe down their children's throats. Anthony Walker made Zach live and breathe the bible. It's surprising that the kid hasn't lost his mind from it all. He'll be leaving this town soon though and I'll be right behind him."

"We need to search your room," Emily said.

"I'll take you up there," Ian said. "I have nothing to hide."

Emily and JJ followed the boy upstairs and upon entering his room they were both surprised to see how neat it was.

Ian stood by the doorway with his father as the agents did their job. After about three minutes, Emily found an open box with the Amazon logo on it under the bed. She set it on the bed and pulled a cross from the box. The cross was the same as the ones that were found on the victims.

Ian frowned at what he saw in Emily's hand. "I don't know where that came from. That box wasn't there before."

JJ went to arrest the boy and she was glad he didn't put up a fight.

"You can't arrest him," Mr. Davis said. "He didn't do anything."

"The box is addressed to him." Emily looked at the receipt that was in the box and saw that six crosses were purchased. Five victims were dead, which meant that one more person had been left on Ian's list.

"I didn't kill anyone," Ian said.

"This is ridiculous!" Mr. Davis yelled. "My son is innocent."

After unsuccessfully trying to calm the man down, Emily took the evidence and headed out to their car with JJ. JJ put the boy in the backseat and Emily stood outside the car to call Garcia.

"Technical analyst extraordinaire. What service do you need from me today?"

"Garcia can you check Ian Davis' credit card report and let me know if there are any purchases made at Amazon?"

"I can." Garcia said. After a few seconds, Garcia confirmed that a week before the murder of Anthony Walker, Ian purchased something from Amazon. "I can't tell you what though."

"I already know what," Emily said. "I just wanted to verify that it was his credit card that bought it. Thanks Garcia." The brunette hung up and got into the car with JJ so they could head back to the station.

* * *

Hotch and Morgan were in the interrogation room doing the good cop, bad cop thing hoping that Ian would cave in and confess.

"You say you didn't buy the crosses but the box was addressed to you and your credit card was the one that bought them," Hotch said.

Ian shrugged. "I don't know where it came from. I really don't. All I know is that I didn't kill anyone."

Morgan looked at Hotch. "There are explanations for what happened," he said to Hotch.

"What explanations are those because I haven't heard any," Hotch said a little louder than necessary.

"His card might've been stolen," Morgan said.

Hotch looked at Ian. "Did you report your card missing recently?"

Ian shook his head. "It never went missing."

"Then you did kill those people," Hotch said. "You stabbed them through the heart and carved those words into them."

"No!" Ian shouted.

Morgan let out as exasperated sigh. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked Hotch.

Hotch stood up and left the interrogation room with Morgan.

"I don't know if he's the one," Hotch said.

"Either that or he's really good at playing innocent," Morgan said.

"Let's make him sweat it out for awhile and go back in," Hotch said.

After a few minutes, the two agents went back into the interrogation room.

"Rachel Ferguson said she spoke with you about her step-father," Hotch said as he sat down. "Is that true?"

"Yes," Ian said. "I told you and the other two agents that already."

"And you spoke with Kyle Perry and Elizabeth Jameson about their parents too?"

"Yes, but I didn't kill them," Ian said.

"Weren't you the only one they talked to?" Hotch asked.

"Yes."

"You never spoke to anyone else about them?" Morgan asked.

"No," Ian said. "Wait, my friend Zach but I made him promise not to repeat it to anyone. He wouldn't have told anyone else."

"Zachary Walker?" Hotch asked.

Ian nodded.

"You're best friends correct?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah, we're like brothers," Ian said.

"How do you think he's going to feel when he finds out that his best friend killed his father?"

"I didn't!" Ian exclaimed.

"Tell us about Zach," Morgan said. "You said you told him about what the others told you?"

"Yeah," Ian said. "He was upset about it. He tried to help me with Rachel but that didn't go well. She took back what she said about her step-father molesting her so there was nothing else we could do."

"Is there anytime that Zach could've had access to your credit card? Hotch asked.

"He's over at my place a lot. Are you trying to put this all on him now? Zach's not a murderer."

Hotch gestured for Morgan to join him outside of the room and they got up to leave. They headed out to the office where JJ and the rest of the team were.

"What do we know about Zachary Walker?" He asked JJ.

"He didn't get along with his dad because his father was abusive towards his mother and pushed religion on him. He spends a lot of time at the recreation center too."

"And now we know that Ian told him everything the kids told him about their parents," Morgan said.

"He told us who Ian spoke to at the rec center and he made sure to mention the victims' kids and no one else," Emily added. "I didn't think much of it then."

"Zach's our unsub," Hotch said.

"There's one more person left," JJ said. "There's one cross left."

Hotch headed back into the interrogation room and looked at Ian. "I need to know who else spoke to you about having a problem with their parents."

"There wasn't anyone else," Ian said. "Everyone else who spoke to me was having issues with school and other stuff like that."

"Listen, Zach is after one more person. I need to know who that person is."

Ian frowned. It couldn't be true that his best friend killed all those people and then tried to set him up to take the fall. He had to admit that Zach had been acting weird lately though. They didn't hangout as much and he was keeping more to himself. "I don't know who it could be."

"Think hard," Hotch said. "Is there anyone in this town that he doesn't like?"

"Father Michaels," Ian said. "He's always going on about how fake he thinks he is. He's the only one I can think of."

Hotch left the room again to talk to his team. "Father Michaels may be Zach's next victim. I doubt he's home, but I'll have a few officers go there. We'll split up and go to the recreation center and the church."

An officer approached the team with a look of worry on his face. "I just got a call from inside the church. Zachary Walker is holding them hostage."

* * *

The team was standing outside the church with a SWAT team and a few police officers. They had been outside for about ten minutes and were glad to know that Zach hadn't hurt anyone.

Emily had insisted that she go in and try to talk Zach into letting the hostages go so Hotch finally relented and the brunette was getting ready to head inside.

Hey, be careful in there," JJ said to Emily.

"I will be," Emily said.

Hotch announced on a megaphone to Zach that an agent was going to be entering the church unarmed.

Agent Prentiss entered the church slowly and held her hands up so that Zach could see that she didn't have a weapon. She took in the people in the room and saw that there were four hostages including Father Michaels who was kneeling on the floor with a gun to his head.

"That's close enough!" Zach yelled at Emily.

"Zachary," Emily said. "You don't want to do this."

"Zach! Call me Zach." His father always called him Zachary and he hated it. "And I do want to do this. They all deserved to die. He," Zach gestured to the priest. "deserves to die. They were all hypocrites! All of them. They judge other people but they're no better. They acted holier-than-thou but they were all secretly fucked up. They had no right to shun or bad mouth others. They pretended to be perfect by hiding behind their religion. I've had enough of it!"

"I understand that you're upset but this isn't going to change anything," Emily said.

"It does change things," Zach countered. "Rachel won't get hurt by her step-father ever again, Kyle won't have to be embarrassed by his alcoholic mother anymore and Elizabeth won't have to hear people whispering about her cheating father. I did them all a favor."

"Why don't you let everyone go and we can talk about it?" Emily asked. "You don't want to hurt these people do you?"

Zach shook his head. "Father Michaels stays here with me. Everyone else can go."

"I'm going to let my boss know that," Emily said. "Is that okay?" Zach nodded and Emily brought her wrist up to her mouth to speak into the mic. "Hey, Hotch three people are coming out. I'm staying inside with Zach and Father Michaels." Emily gestured for the hostages to leave the church and they quickly got up from the pew and ran out. "Okay, Zach. Talk to me. What did Father Michaels do?"

"My father was beating my mother so I came to him. I asked him for help and he turned me away."

"I didn't turn you away," Father Michaels said.

"Shut up!" Zach yelled. "I told you what was going on and all you could say is that my father was a good man and wouldn't hurt my mother. You knew he hurt her. Everyone knew. They all talked about it behind her back. I know it. You just didn't want to see his money go away. He made large donations to this church and that's all you cared about. You're supposed to be someone people can go to. You're no better than the others."

"Zach, I know what it's like to need the help of your priest and have him turn you away."

"And what did you do when that happened?" Zach asked.

"I turned to my best friend," Emily said. "He helped me through things."

Zach let out a bitter laugh. "I set up my best friend. I wasn't going to make him take the fall though. I used his credit card because when I got the idea to do what I did I was at his house and it was there. But then when I heard the FBI was involved, I hid the box in his room because I never thought anyone would suspect him."

"But then you led us to him," Emily pointed out.

"Yeah, I thought I was going to get caught and I wanted to finish what I started. After Father Michaels was dead, I would've confessed."

"You don't need to finish anything," Emily said. "Let Father Michaels go."

"I've already killed five people. I'll be in jail for life or worse. What's one more person?"

* * *

"She's taking too long," a SWAT leader said. "I want to send my men in."

"Not yet," Hotch said. "She got three people out. Give her some more time."

"She has five more minutes and then we're going in," the man said.

Hotch spoke into the mic attached to the wrist of his sleeve. "Emily, you have five minutes before SWAT comes in." He hoped the woman would be able to talk the situation down and get out safely.

Reid noticed that JJ was looking high-strung as she stood with her arms folded staring at the church building. "She's going to be fine."

"I know, Spence. It's just nerve-wracking. She's in there unarmed with a boy that's killed five people already."

"Emily can handle this." Reid placed a hand on JJ's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

* * *

"Give me the gun Zach." Emily took a step towards the boy. "You know this isn't right. You don't have to end things this way. Let Father Michaels go and walk out of this building with me."

"I was with my father in the garage. He wanted help cleaning it out. We stored all our junk in there. I told him I wanted him to stop hitting Mom and he told me to mind my business. That's when I snapped. I went inside the house, got a knife, went back into the garage and I stabbed him. My mother never goes in the garage so I hid his body amongst the junk until I could figure out what I was going to do. That's when I realized he could never hurt or humiliate her again. That day I decided I would help more people and I have."

"You could have helped them in other ways," Emily said.

Zach stepped away from the priest. "He can go. I want you to stay. I want to talk."

Emily nodded. "Okay." The brunette let Hotch know that Father Michaels was coming out and that'd she be staying in for awhile longer.

* * *

After about ten minutes, Emily walked out of the church with a handcuffed Zach. She handed him over to an officer and JJ approached her.

"Hey are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Emily said. "He just wanted to talk. He said that he let it all build up and never said anything about it so he wanted to get it all off his chest."

"I was worried about you," JJ said. "I was hoping you wouldn't go and get yourself hurt on purpose to avoid Saturday."

Emily laughed. "You think I'd go to that extreme just to avoid going to the amusement park?"

JJ smirked. "I don't know. Would you?"

The brunette smiled. "It crossed my mind," she winked at the blonde before heading over to talk to Hotch. She wouldn't tell anyone but she was actually looking forward to a day of fun.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Emily and Reid were in JJ's car on their way to the amusement park. Hotch was driving with his wife and son while Garcia rode with Morgan. Rossi had allegedly come down with the flu and claimed he couldn't make it out today.

JJ took her eyes off the road for a second to glance at Emily. "I'm so excited. I haven't been to an amusement park since I was in college. You're going to love it." She then looked into her rearview mirror to look at Reid who was in the backseat reading a book. "Have you ever been to an amusement park, Spence?"

Reid looked up from his book. "Once."

Emily's eyebrows rose. "Really? I can't see that. When was this?"

"I was younger," Reid said. "It was a school trip."

"And did you have fun?" JJ asked.

"Not really," Reid replied. "I threw up on a ride and got made fun of for it the rest of the day."

"Well you're going to have fun this time," JJ said. "You're with cooler people." The media liaison looked at Emily. "See? Even Reid's been. You've been deprived."

"He went on a school trip. I doubt he would've gone otherwise. Right, Reid?"

"Of course he would've gone," JJ said. "It's fun."

"Reid's definition of fun is staying home to watch crime shows to see how accurate they are. Anyway, all I know is no one better throw up on me. I've heard horror stories."

"Speaking of horror stories," Reid began. "Do you know that seven thousand people a year go to the hospital because of an amusement park related incident? And a little less than half of that die."

JJ rolled her eyes. "Spence I want Emily to have fun not worry about whether she'll meet her demise while on a rollercoaster. No more statistics."

"It's fine. It adds a little edge to it if I think my life is constantly in danger. Who can ask for more fun than that?" Emily said sarcastically.

The blonde laughed. "Trust me that won't even be on your mind with the amount of fun you'll be having."

* * *

Two hours had gone by and Emily was having a blast. She stepped off the rollercoaster ride that had just ended and waited for Reid and JJ to join her.

JJ had a smile on her face as she walked up to Emily. "Tired of that ride yet?" The brunette had ridden it three times already.

"We'll have to get on it one more time before we leave," Emily said. "It's the best we've been on so far."

Reid had a frown on his face as he approached his friends. "The woman next to me screamed too much. I think she busted my eardrum.

"Oh god, I heard her," Emily said. "You were sitting next to her? That's horrible."

"I don't understand why screaming is even necessary," Reid said.

"It adds to the excitement," JJ said.

Garcia and Morgan approached the three agents. The tech analyst had a stuffed bear in her arms.

Emily laughed. "What's with the bear?"

"My hunk of man chocolate won it for me," Garcia smiled.

Morgan grinned. "That's right. Do you ladies want me to win you something too?"

Emily laughed. "No, I think we can manage on our own." The brunette looked at JJ. "Want to use your perfect shooting skills to win me a bear?"

"Sure, but you hate stuffed animals," JJ stated.

Garcia gasped. "You hate stuffed animals? What'd you do with the bear I gave you while you were recuperating?"

"It's in my closet," Emily answered, honestly. "I do like it though. It's-,"

"Don't even try to make it better," Garcia pouted. "Next time I'll just give you a card."

"Promise?" Emily smirked.

Garcia playfully slapped her friend on the shoulder.

"Okay, I'm going to go win Emily a stuffed animal. You three behave," she said before walking away with Emily.

* * *

The team sans Hotch, who was holding everyone's things on the sidelines, were riding in bumper cars. Emily had the stuffed dog that JJ won her in the seat next to her as she bumped her car into Morgan's.

"Woo!" Emily cheered and leaned over to high-five Garcia who was in the car next to her.

Morgan opened his mouth to say something to the two, but was again hit by a car. He looked to see who had done it and saw Jack and Haley. "Jack you're supposed to be on my side."

"Ms. Jareau said she'd buy me a funnel cake if I was on her team," Jack said. "Sorry."

Morgan laughed. "Food wins that boy over every time."

Once they were done with the bumper cars, JJ got out of the small car and approached Emily. "Okay, you in that car with a stuffed animal is totally the cutest thing ever. I'm glad Hotch was taking pictures."

Emily's eyes widened. "He was taking pictures?"

"Yeah, I asked him to," JJ said as she walked with Emily to the platform.

"Those pictures can never see the light of day," the brunette said. "They'll be used to blackmail me."

"I won't let Morgan get them," JJ promised. "I just want you to have memories of this place. So are you having fun?"

"Tons," Emily said.

Garcia approached the two women. "Who's up for another rollercoaster ride?"

"I'm in." Emily linked her arms with Garcia's.

"Okay, let's go Reid," Garcia said.

The scrawny man allowed the woman to grab his hand and pull him with them to the nearest rollercoaster.

Morgan put an arm around JJ's shoulders and watched as his friends walked off. "I've never seen Emily so carefree."

"I don't think anyone has," JJ said. "It's nice."

"With a friend like you, I'm sure she'll be having a lot more days like this."

"Thanks. I appreciate that," JJ said. "I just want her to see that there's more to life than what she was taught growing up."

Morgan smiled. "I think she's starting to see that."

* * *

"This is amazing." Emily was eating a funnel cake as she sat with JJ. Jack had taken his with him so he could walk around with the others. "I have definitely been deprived."

JJ laughed. "That's what I've been trying to tell you.

Emily's cell phone began to ring and she wiped off her hands so she could answer it. When she pulled it from her pocket and saw that it was her mother, she put it back.

"Not going to answer it?" JJ asked.

Emily shook her head. "It's my mother."

"She's really taking the bonding thing seriously," JJ said. "I'm happy for you. Maybe you two will have the chance to become close."

"She's driving me insane," Emily said. "She thinks we should be dating. She has it in her head that you think you're too good for me."

The media liaison couldn't help but laugh. "Me and you?"

Emily nodded. "Ridiculous, right?"

JJ shrugged. "I don't know. I could see it."

The brunette felt her heart skip a beat but from the smirk on JJ's face knew that the blonde was just joking around with her. "Oh yeah? Am I even your type?"

"I like brunettes so you have that working for you," JJ said. "And you have a killer personality."

"So I can tell my mom you don't think you're too good for me?" Emily grinned.

"Yes, please do," JJ said. "Last thing I need is to be on the bad side of a Prentiss."

Emily took the last bite of her funnel cake and brushed her hands off. JJ smiled when she saw that sugar had been left on the corner of Emily's mouth. She pulled her camera out of her purse and snapped a quick picture of her friend.

"Why'd you take a picture?"

JJ put the camera back and gestured to Emily's face. "You have sugar on your face."

Emily rolled her eyes but she was smiling. "How about taking a picture of me when I don't look like a fool?"

"Where's the fun in that?" JJ brought her hand out and used her thumb to brush the sugar off Emily's face. She then brought her thumb to her mouth to suck the sugar off it before wiping her hand with a napkin.

JJ's actions had left Emily stunned. The woman's gentle touch and her licking her thumb off had definitely done things to her arousal level. The brunette cleared her throat and gestured behind her. "We should go find the others."

"Yeah, we need to see what trouble they're getting into," JJ said as she stood up.

As they walked off to find their friends, Emily felt JJ intertwine their fingers so that they were holding hands. She was shocked by this, but knew not to make much of it. JJ was babbling about something as they walked, oblivious to what she was making the profiler feel. Emily took a deep breath. She was enjoying the warmth that JJ's hand was bringing her. If going out and having fun would make this happen more often, then she was all for it.

* * *

It was night now and Emily was driving this time around while JJ sat in the passenger seat. Reid had opted to ride with Garcia and Morgan on the way back, leaving the two friends alone.

"Thanks for taking me out here," Emily said. "It was a lot of fun."

JJ turned her head away from the window to look at the brunette. "Anytime, Em. I had fun too. So what's number nine on your list?"

"Rollerblading if I remember correctly," Emily said. "I've always wanted to learn but it never happened. I tried once and ended up busting my chin. My mom told me I wasn't allowed to rollerblade anymore after that. She made me learn to crochet." Laughter filled the car and Emily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. It's lame."

"No, it's not lame," JJ said. "I just can't picture you doing something so domestic."

"Yeah, well I have many hidden talents," Emily stated.

"I'm sure you do," JJ grinned. "Ever tie a cherry stem with your tongue?"

"Can't say that I have," Emily said.

"That's one of my hidden talents," JJ said. "I'll show you one of these days."

_Please do. _Emily thought.

"What's on your list after rollerblading?" JJ asked.

"You'll find out after we do number nine," Emily said.

JJ groaned. "Come on. Can't I just see the list?"

Emily shook her head. "You'll find out what's on it as we go."

"Fine," JJ said through a yawn.

"You should close your eyes for a bit," Emily said. "I'll let you know when we're at your place."

"Who's going to keep you awake?" JJ said.

"I'm not tired," Emily said. "Go ahead. Take a quick nap."

"Okay," JJ said. "And Em."

"Yeah?"

"You have a beautiful smile. You should show it more often." JJ leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes.

Emily smiled at the blonde's words. Her crush on JJ was growing by the minute and she knew that wouldn't be any good for her sanity.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the feedback.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

It was Friday night and Emily was enjoying a rum and coke at Garcia's apartment. The blonde had invited her over to hangout and she decided that she would go. She was expecting JJ to be present at the apartment as well but that hadn't been the case. Emily was a little disappointed by that but she was having a good time nonetheless. Well, that was until she found out where JJ was at the moment. A date. According to Garcia the woman had met someone at the bar a few days ago and he called her up and she agreed to go on a date with him. Emily wasn't as thrilled about it as the tech analyst.

Garcia returned to the living room from the kitchen and handed Emily another glass of rum and coke.

Emily took a big gulp from the glass. "So who's this guy Jay-Jay's on a date with?"

"Oh I don't know anything about him," Garcia said. "She said she'd be stopping by after though. Who knows, things might go very well and she might not show up."

The brunette made a face of disgust and sipped her drink.

"What was that face for?" Garcia asked. "Are you jealous our lovely media liaison is out on a date and you're not? Tell me you're type and I'll go online and find you someone."

Emily shook her head. "I am not letting you do that. And I'm not jealous. I don't get jealous. I mean, sometimes maybe, but not often."

The blonde smiled at the woman's rambling. "I can't believe I get to witness a drunken Emily. I wish I owned a video camera. Jay-Jay's going to be sad she missed out on this one."

"Jennifer Evelyn Jareau," Emily said. "That's such a pretty name don't you think? It suits her."

"Uh yeah," Garcia agreed. "Yeah it does."

Emily finished her drink and handed the glass to Garcia. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all." Garcia took the glass and went to get the profiler another drink. She had lost count of how many drinks Emily had so far but she was sure that this should be her cut off point. Garcia reentered the living room and gave the brunette her drink. "Last one."

Emily frowned. "Last one? I'm just getting started." Emily took a big gulp of her drink and rested her head on the back of the couch. "Do you think Jay-Jay's going to marry the guy she's on a date with?"

Garcia laughed. "She barely knows the guy. Marriage isn't even in her head right now."

"Good," Emily slurred. "I don't want her marrying anyone. Is that a horrible thing for me to want? I don't want her with anyone but me."

Garcia's mouth fell open. How could she be the All Knowing and not realize that Emily was crushing on JJ? She couldn't believe it. "How long have you had a crush on her?"

"Awhile." Emily finished her drink and set it down on the coffee table. "I've tried not to but she's just… she's Jay-Jay." Emily moved so that she was lying down on the couch.

The tech analyst watched as Emily closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep. She stood up and headed to her bedroom and returned with a blanket to drape over her friend. As she started to clean up, she heard a knock at her door. She went over to it and looked through the peephole and saw JJ. She opened the door and put a finger up to her lips before gesturing to a sleeping Emily.

JJ nodded her understanding and followed Garcia to her bedroom. "When'd she fall asleep?"

"Not even three minutes ago," Garcia answered. "She had one too many drinks. So why aren't you on your date?"

JJ sighed. "I bailed. My mom called me and I pretended it was work."

The tech analyst laughed. "Nice one. Why'd you do that?"

"I was bored," JJ set her purse down on Garcia's bed and kicked her shoes off.

"He was dull?" Garcia asked.

"He was interesting enough. I just kept thinking about how much I'd rather be here having girl's night in. I'm fine with being single. I don't know why I went out tonight."

"Free meal?" Garcia joked.

JJ laughed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "That was the best thing about tonight. So what'd you and Emily do?"

"We just talked," Garcia said. "Well, I did most of the talking, but that's usually the case with me and anyone."

"I wish she wasn't sleeping," JJ said. "I haven't seen her all day."

"Spend the night," Garcia said. "You can see her tomorrow morning. We can get breakfast together."

"That'd be nice." JJ curled up in bed with her best friend and they talked until JJ eventually fell asleep.

Garcia, on the other hand, was still awake wondering if she should tell JJ about Emily's crush or not. After awhile the woman came to the decision that she wouldn't say anything. It wasn't her place to. She would definitely be bringing this up to Emily though. She had a feeling that the brunette would deny everything, but it was worth a shot.

* * *

Emily sat up from the couch and ran a hand through her unkempt hair. She immediately went to lie back down and closed her eyes. There was no other way to put it. She felt like crap. She had too much to drink last night and now she was paying for it.

"Hey." Garcia walked to the couch and looked down at her friend. "Rise and shine, Emily. JJ will be here with breakfast soon."

Emily shook her head. "I don't want breakfast. I want to sleep."

Garcia held out a glass of water and two pills. "This will help."

Emily sat up again to take the glass and pills from her friend. "Why'd you let me drink so much?"

Garcia smirked. "Don't blame this one on me. This was all you, my friend."

Emily took the pills and drank all the water before responding. "What time is it?"

"Nine," Garcia replied.

"And you said Jay-Jay was on her way?"

"She spent the night. She's getting us breakfast." Garcia moved so that she was sitting next to Emily. "Remember much of last night?"

The profiler thought back to the night before and could easily remember everything. She then remembered confessing her feelings for JJ to Garcia. "Um, no. I don't remember much of anything."

"Nothing at all?" Garcia asked. "Like, I don't know… having a crush on our favorite media liaison?"

Emily was hoping Garcia would've let that go, but apparently she wasn't. She shouldn't be too surprised. "Please don't say anything to her."

"I won't. I promise," Garcia said. "But maybe you should."

"Not going to happen. We're friends and I don't want to ruin that. And what will telling her accomplish? It's not like I have a chance with her. Can we pretend that last night never happened?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Are you just saying that or do you mean it?"

"I mean it. I promise I won't bring this up again… unless it's to tease you."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Great."

"I'll be here to listen if you want to talk about it." Garcia would have to fight her urge to play matchmaker. Thoughts about how she could slyly ask JJ whether or not she would ever date a woman were already formulating in her head. She could see the two agents together. They would make a cute crime fighting couple.

Emily noticed Garcia smiling and furrowed her brows. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Garcia stood up and headed to her room.

Emily let out a sigh. She hoped Garcia would keep her promise. Having a crush on JJ was the last thing she wanted people to know about. It had the potential to make things awkward between her and the blonde. That was the last thing she wanted. She thought that maybe after today spending less time with JJ would do her some good if she wanted her feelings to go away.

* * *

A/N: TvFanatic1984: There will definitely be some crashing and a lot of what you went through.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Emily had been at the rollerblading rink with JJ and her friends for about half an hour now and she had already fallen more than she'd like to admit. She was glad that the team had managed to rent the place out for a few hours so that no one else would be around.

JJ approached Emily who had a hand on the barrier so she wouldn't fall. "You're going to have to let go of that eventually."

"I like it here," Emily said. "I don't think my butt can take anymore falls."

The blonde laughed and held her hand out. "At least hold my hand instead."

The profiler had told JJ that she could get a hang of rollerblading on her own so the blonde had left her to go teach Spencer the basics. Emily just didn't want the close contact. Well she did, but she didn't. She loved being close to JJ but at the same time the closeness was making her want things that she could never have. "It's okay. You go enjoy yourself. I've got this."

"I've seen you on the floor more than I've seen you standing," JJ pointed out. "You need my help."

Morgan rolled past the women and then turned around so that he was rollerblading backwards. "Come on, Prentiss. How are you going to have fun if you won't let go of the barrier?"

Emily glared at her friend. "Show off."

Morgan smirked. "I'm a skilled man. What can I say?"

Garcia moved near them with a big grin on her face. "He most certainly is."

Morgan shook his head with a smile on his face. "Behave, baby girl."

"Hey, I was just agreeing with you," Garcia said, innocently. "Anyway, Emily take Jay-Jay's hand so she can help you. Look at Spencer. He was just as hopeless as you and now look at him. He's moving in circles around this place."

"Don't be scared," Morgan added.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I'm not scared."

JJ wiggled her fingers of the hand she had outstretched to Emily. "Then take my hand."

Emily sighed and took the woman's hand. "Everyone happy now?"

"Ecstatic." Garcia winked at Emily before heading over to Reid.

Morgan went off to join them, leaving Emily with JJ. "Okay, so how are we going to do this?"

"First we're going to move to the middle of the rink," JJ said. "You don't have to pick up your feet. I'll pull you." Emily let JJ pull her to their destination and then the blonde turned to face her, releasing her hand.

"Why'd you let go?" Emily asked. "Do you want me to fall?"

"You can do it," JJ said. "When I wanted to learn to swim my uncle threw me into the pool and told me to swim or drown."

"Nice uncle," Emily said, sarcastically.

"Well it worked. So just follow me." JJ moved backwards and gestured for the woman to follow her.

As soon as Emily lifted her foot from the floor, she lost her balance and fell onto her back.

JJ bit the bottom of her lip to stop from laughing. "Are you okay?"

Emily tried to stand up but was having difficulty doing so without the barrier to help her. She fell once more and let out a defeated breath. "This is stupid."

"Calm down." JJ helped her friend up and then linked her arm with Emily's. "Now if you fall, I fall and I know you won't let that happen."

"And what makes you think that?" Emily asked.

"You'll feel guilty if I get hurt. You're all about protecting me."

"Oh yeah, and how'd you come to that conclusion?"

"You're always entering places before me when we're out on a case, you step in front of me when an unsub draws a gun and you worry way too much when I get hurt. By the way, you really need to stop stepping in front of me. It ruins my chances of a perfectly good shot."

Emily made an apologetic face. "Sorry, guess I don't realize I do those things."

"It's sweet. I like knowing that you always have my back." JJ really didn't mind. It was a very comforting thought to know when she was going into danger that her friend would be there to make sure she was safe. "Now let's get you skating."

It had taken awhile but Emily was finally able to move around on her own. She was now enjoying herself and she felt accomplished.

Garcia moved beside Emily. "Hey," she said in a low voice. "You and Jay-Jay were looking cozy earlier." She had witnessed JJ holding Emily's hand after the brunette had already managed to learn to stay standing. The two had circled the rink as they talked and joked around as if they were in their own world. No one else thought much of it, but Garcia knew that Emily was enjoying JJ's attention.

"Sh." Emily looked around. "Someone might hear you."

"Okay, so I know I said I wouldn't bring this up again but I've thought out a plan."

"Garcia," Emily began.

"Just hear me out," Garcia said. "I'll take her to a gay bar and see how she reacts to being hit on."

"Don't bother."

"It's a well thought out plan."

"Garcia you promised."

"Okay, okay." Garcia had always assumed that JJ was straight but now that she thought about it, she'd never known JJ to stay in a relationship for more than a few weeks. The blonde had always found something wrong with the men she dated. Whether it be something big like they hated her job or something small like they chewed with their mouth open, she always found a reason to leave them. She was probably thinking too much about it and coming to her own conclusions, but now she thought that perhaps JJ was dating the wrong gender. The tech analyst glanced over at JJ who was talking with Reid. "I would like to say sorry in advance."

Emily frowned. "Sorry for what?"

Garcia took off to build up speed. As she circled the rink, she neared Emily once again. With a smile on her face, she brought her hands out and pushed the woman towards JJ.

"Garcia!" Emily exclaimed.

JJ went to stop the woman but the force of Emily's body impacted with hers and they both fell to the floor.

"I am so sorry," Emily said from on top of JJ. She pushed herself up so that she was hovering over the woman.

Morgan approached the women. "Are you two okay?"

JJ laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Me too."

"Yeah, that's because I broke your fall," JJ smiled.

Morgan helped the women up and Garcia feigned innocence. "Sorry, I totally bumped into you. I wasn't paying attention. I was staring at my chocolate Adonis."

"It's okay, Pen," JJ said. "We're fine."

Emily didn't believe a word of what Garcia said and as they continued to rollerblade, she found the blonde constantly trying to get her closer to JJ. She now knew that Garcia wasn't going to stick to her promise but she hoped the woman would at least keep her crush on their friend a secret.

* * *

Emily entered JJ's house rubbing her sore shoulder. "I need full body armor the next time I rollerblade."

"We can go up to my room and I'll give you a massage."

"Oh no, it's okay," Emily said quickly. "I'm just a little sore."

"A massage will make you feel better." JJ headed upstairs and Emily followed. As they entered her room, JJ gestured towards the bed. "Take off your shirt and lie down."

Emily never thought she'd hear those words come out of JJ's mouth. It wasn't in the way she had hoped to hear them but beggars can't be choosers, right? Emily pulled off her shirt before kicking off her shoes and getting onto the bed. As she laid on her stomach with her head resting on her folded arms, she felt JJ's weight on her back. She then felt the woman's soft hands make contact with her bare shoulders, which caused a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. She usually got that feeling when JJ held her hand or even smiled at her.

"Geez, Em. You're incredibly tense. I should do this for you more often. So since I have you here, what's next on your list?"

Emily forced herself to stop thinking about where she really wanted JJ's hands to be so she could answer the question. "I want to make a complete fool out of myself."

"You want to make a fool out of yourself?"

"I've never let loose," Emily said. "I was taught to always be professional. My parents didn't want me embarrassing them. Now it's hard for me to do anything without worrying about what people will think of me."

"Then I'll think of the perfect thing for you to do and let you know," JJ said. The blonde already had something in mind but was afraid if she told Emily, the woman would back out. Garcia had always tried to get Emily to do karaoke with her but the brunette always refused. Now there was a chance she'd actually agree to it.

Emily felt JJ's hands leave her shoulders and move down to her back and she wondered if she was a horrible person for defiling her friend in her mind. She really wanted nothing more than to throw the woman down and have her way with her.

_I'm supposed to be spending less time with her and here I am getting a massage. _Emily thought.

"Feeling more relaxed yet?"

"Um, yeah. I think I'm good now actually. Thanks."

JJ moved off the woman and sat down on the bed. "What do you want to do now?"

"I can't stay. I'm sorry," Emily said. "I told my mom I would call her once I was done rollerblading." Okay that was a lie, but Emily really wanted to put some distance between herself and JJ.

"Oh, then we can do something tomorrow. Just give me a call."

Emily put her shirt on and straightened it out before slipping her shoes back on. "Yeah, I'll call you. Thanks for today. It was fun."

JJ smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Next weekend should be full of good times too."

"I'm looking forward to it." Emily gestured towards the door. "I'll see myself out."

The media liaison furrowed her brows. The brunette was acting strangely. "Are you okay?"

Emily nodded. "I just really need to get going. I'll see you later."

JJ watched her friend leave, wondering what was up with her. She'd let her go for now and ask her about it tomorrow. Right now she needed to figure out why giving Emily a massage had heightened her libido.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

JJ was sitting in her office lost in her paperwork. She hadn't seen Emily since Saturday. The media liaison had called her friend on Sunday, but she said that she wasn't feeing well enough to do anything. She had offered to go over and take care of her but Emily insisted that JJ stay home because she didn't want the woman to catch whatever it was she had. Now it was the middle of the afternoon on Monday and she hadn't even spoken to the woman yet. She'd been too busy. The sexual desire she had felt towards Emily on Saturday had been written off as nothing. JJ didn't understand where the feelings had come from but she wasn't going to make it into something when it meant nothing. That's how trouble started.

The blonde looked up when she heard her office door open. She smiled when she saw Garcia poke her head in. "Come in, Pen."

Garcia entered the office and closed the door behind her. "You've been holed up in here way too long. Are you okay?"

JJ looked down at the files on her desk before looking back up at Garcia. "I'm just busy. How's Emily doing? She was feeling sick yesterday."

"Whatever it was must've been a twenty-four hour thing. She looks fine now."

"That's good."

Garcia gave the woman a quizzical look. "Are you two fighting?"

"No, why do you think that?"

"You two are attached at the hips. I was surprised when Emily said she hasn't seen you since Saturday. I just thought maybe something was wrong. You two spend so much time together you might as well be-,"

"Sisters, I know," JJ finished for her.

So _not what I was going to say. _Garcia thought. "That's what you feel towards Emily? She's like a sister to you?"

The media liaison smiled. "Yeah, just like you are to me."

_Damn, that's not what I wanted to hear. _Garcia smiled at her friend. "That's great. I'm glad. So I was thinking we'd go out tonight… to a gay bar. It'll be nice to go somewhere different. I'll get Emily to join us."

JJ shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Let me go talk Emily into going. I'll see you after work." Garcia left the office and walked over to Emily.

Emily looked up when she heard the sound of heels nearing her desk. "Hey, Garcia."

"Hi, my favorite profiler," Garcia smiled.

Morgan smirked and looked at Garcia from his desk. "I thought I was your favorite profiler?"

"Yeah, but right now it's Emily."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to a bar tonight. Jay-Jay's going." Garcia didn't want to mention that it was a gay bar in front of the others because she and JJ were the only ones who knew about Emily being gay.

"I don't know," Emily began. "I might just want to go home after work."

"It's a girl's night out. You're going."

"What's the point in asking me if I want to go if you're going to make me go anyway?"

"I was trying to be nice," Garcia said. "I'll see you later. Tonight's going to be fun. Get excited."

"I'm jumping with joy," Emily said sarcastically. She didn't really want to go out. She did miss JJ though. She wasn't sure if avoiding the woman was doing her any good. She would have to find another way to get rid of her feelings for her friend.

* * *

JJ rolled her eyes at the woman who was flirting with Emily on the dance floor. The brunette had three drinks in her hands and had been on her way back to the table when a pretty redhead had stopped her.

"Can't she see that Emily's busy?" JJ asked Garcia.

Garcia turned her head to look where JJ was looking. She smiled when she saw a woman obviously flirting with Emily. At the moment, the redhead was laughing at something their friend had said. "Maybe Emily's enjoying it."

"The woman's probably just being persistent."

"You're not jealous are you?" Garcia grinned.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, Pen. I'm not jealous. I just know that Emily isn't interested in that woman." The blonde hadn't seen Emily since Saturday and she was looking forward to spending some time with her. Now this redheaded woman was jeopardizing that.

"Here she comes," Garcia said.

Emily reached the table and set the drinks down on it. "Hey, I'm going to dance with someone for awhile. I'll be right back."

Before anyone could say anything, Emily headed back over to the redhead and they disappeared deeper into the crowd of dancing bodies.

This wasn't exactly what Garcia wanted to happen, but at least she had witness JJ become jealous. Maybe the blonde didn't see Emily as just a sister. "You look pissed."

"It's girl's night out," JJ pointed out. "We're supposed to be spending time together. No boys… or girls. Just us."

"It's good that she's out there dancing. She's loosening up," Garcia said.

JJ sighed. "You're right. I'm being ridiculous. I'm glad she's enjoying herself." _Emily's not looking to date anyone._ JJ thought._ It won't become anything. _

A few days later…

It was a Saturday afternoon and Garcia was having lunch with JJ at one of their favorite places. Emily had hit it off with the woman at the bar and they had gone on several dates since Monday night. Everyone still saw Emily but it just wasn't as much as it used to be. That wasn't going well with JJ.

"What kind of name is Arianna anyway? JJ spat.

"It sounds nice," Garcia said. "I like…" the woman stopped speaking when she saw JJ glaring at her. She picked up her smoothie and began to drink it to give her a reason not to talk.

"We rarely see her anymore," JJ said.

"That's not true," Garcia said. "We see her at work and we had a movie night on Wednesday. I know you're used to seeing her all the time, but she has a girlfriend now."

JJ rolled her eyes. "She can do so much better."

_Okay, if this isn't jealousy, then I don't know what is. _Garcia thought. "Arianna is nice. Emily at least seems to like her. And we're going to Emily's place after we're done here so it's not like we don't spend time with her. We also have the karaoke thing tonight. I bought a video camera recently so I'm definitely recording that."

"Okay, you're right. I'm overreacting," JJ said. "I'm just used to seeing Emily a lot more than this."

"I know, sweetie," Garcia said. "Let's head to her place now." Garcia was torn. Her initial plan was to get JJ and Emily together, but now the brunette was with someone. What was she supposed to do now? She would leave it for fate to handle, but that might be a slower process and she wasn't willing to stand by and wait. She couldn't get the two together though if JJ wasn't ready to admit that she had feelings that ran deeper than friendship for the profiler. _I have my work cut out for me. _ The tech analyst thought.

* * *

The three women were in Emily's living room talking when the topic of tonight came up.

"Be prepared to relive tonight over and over again," JJ said. "Garcia bought a video camera."

Emily laughed. "You guys are upgrading to videos to use as blackmail against me? It won't be that bad though. Yesterday I told Arianna about karaoke night and she got excited. She took me to a bar where her friends go and she had me sing a few songs with her. It wasn't as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be."

JJ hoped she had heard wrong because there was no way Emily would do something that they had planned together with someone else. "You already did karaoke?"

"Yeah," Emily answered. "I didn't plan it or anything. Like I said, Arianna took me."

Garcia could feel the tension fill the room and she wanted nothing more than to hightail it out of the condo, but she had a feeling her counseling skills would be needed.

"I can't believe you, Emily," JJ said angrily. "We had plans to do this together."

"And we still are," Emily stated.

"It won't be the same." JJ stood up. "That list was supposed to be our thing and you go and share it with someone else? You know what? You can go finish off that list with your girlfriend since you enjoy spending more time with her than any of us." The blonde stormed out of the condo.

Garcia got up to go after her but she wanted to check on Emily first. She looked at the brunette who looked confused by JJ's sudden outburst. "You okay?"

"What the hell was that?" Emily asked.

"Emily, Jay-Jay looks forward to doing things on that list with you. She loves that you open up to her and share things with her that you don't share with anyone else. She thinks she's being replaced."

"She's not," Emily said. "No one could even come close to taking her place."

"Then let her know that once she cools down," Garcia said. "She might be outside waiting for me so I should go unless you want me to stay."

"No it's okay. I could use the time to think," Emily said. "Sorry I ruined tonight."

"Don't worry about it," Garcia said. "We can do it some other night."

After Garcia left, Emily headed to her room. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. Arianna was a distraction for her. The redhead kept her mind off JJ. Okay, that wasn't the complete truth. There were times when Emily was with Arianna and wished that it was JJ instead. She knew that wasn't fair to the woman. Emily laid down on her bed and thought about JJ. She didn't mean to hurt her. She hoped there was something she could do to make up for being an idiot. Until then she was going to have to figure out what she was going to do about Arianna.

* * *

A/N: heatwave16: Was that fast enough?

linelm: Do you have ESP? I planned this chapter yesterday and when I read your review this morning, I laughed at the gay bar comment.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Three days had passed and Emily was sitting in a hospital room getting stitches in her shoulder. A bullet had grazed it as she pushed JJ out of the way. The media liaison hadn't spoken to her about anything that wasn't work related since their fight and she was getting upset by it. The woman wouldn't even give her a chance to apologize.

When her stitches were done, Emily left the room and saw that JJ had stuck around to wait for her. "Where's Morgan?"

"I made him leave," JJ said. "I have strict orders to make sure you go home and not back to the office. How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic," Emily said sarcastically. "Can we go?"

JJ nodded and they left the hospital to go to the SUV. JJ knew she shouldn't expect Emily to be nice to her. She had been giving the woman the cold shoulder for three days now. At first it was because she was upset that Emily had done something that they were supposed to do together with someone else, and then it turned into her avoiding the woman so she wouldn't blurt out that she liked her. The realization had hit her like a ton of bricks when she stormed out of Emily's condo last Saturday and she didn't know what to do about it.

The ride to Emily's condo was filled with an awkward silence that made JJ want to scream. She hated that they were fighting, but she knew it was her fault. She'd have to fix it when they arrived at Emily's place.

The profiler wasn't sure what to say. From the lack of conversation, she was guessing that JJ was still upset with her.

After a few minutes they reached their destination and JJ got out of the car.

Emily got out as well and stopped at the door of the building. "You really don't have to walk me up. I'm fine."

"We need to talk," JJ said. "I know I've been a bitch but please, can we?"

Emily nodded and headed inside the building and up to her condo with JJ behind her. Once she was sitting in her living room, she waited for JJ to say what she wanted to say.

"Thank you for saving my life," JJ said.

"You don't have to thank me," Emily said. "I'd do anything to protect you. You know that."

"Yeah, I do," JJ said. "Sorry I yelled at you."

"I deserved it," Emily said. "I just wish you would've let me apologize."

"I was just so upset that you did something with her that was supposed to be our thing."

"I'm sorry," Emily said. "I really am. I don't know what I was thinking. I like that the list is our thing and I never meant to ruin it."

"You didn't ruin it," JJ said. "Are we okay?"

"I'd like us to be. I've missed you."

JJ smiled. "I've missed you too." She moved over to the couch and sat down next to Emily. She took the woman's hand into her own and rested her head on the brunette's shoulder. "We can't fight for that long ever again."

"I'll write a contract up later that says we promise to work out our fights the day they happen," Emily joked.

The blonde laughed. "Good. And you didn't get shot just to get me to talk to you did you?"

"No, but it did work out in my favor." There was a knock at the door, and already knowing who it was made Emily more irritated than happy. "Um, that's Arianna."

JJ removed her hand from Emily's and stood up. "I should get going anyway."

"You don't have to go," Emily said.

"I have to get back to work," JJ said. "I'll call to check in later."

Emily stood up and followed JJ to the front door. When she opened it, she saw her girlfriend standing there with flowers in her hand.

JJ stopped herself from rolling her eyes when Arianna leaned forward to kiss Emily on the lips.

"I can't believe you got shot," Arianna said. "I bought you flowers." She noticed JJ and smiled at the woman. "Hi."

The media liaison forced a smile and greeted the woman. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

"Arianna this is Jay-Jay," Emily said.

"I've heard a lot about you," Arianna said. "You weren't leaving were you?"

"Yeah, I've got to get back to work," JJ said. "Sorry, I can't stay. Bye, Em."

"Bye." Emily watched JJ walk away before closing the door. She noticed that Arianna had a frown on her face. "What's wrong?"

"You told me not to call you Em. You said you hated it."

_Okay, a small white lie I shouldn't have made. _Emily thought. The only person who really called her Em was JJ and she loved it. Her mom called her it sometimes, but it was rare. "I do. She just always forgets."

"Oh," Arianna said. "I'm going to put these in water for you."

"Thanks," Emily smiled.

The redhead walked into the kitchen and Emily ran a hand through her hair. She really wished she could be back on the couch with JJ. That was nice. Arianna was nice, but Emily felt like she was forcing herself to be interested. She had decided to stay with the woman, hoping that she would like her later but that hadn't happened yet. Maybe her crush on JJ was ruining her for other women.

Emily's phone began to ring and she pulled it out of her pocket. "Agent Prentiss?"

"Hi, darling," Ambassador Prentiss greeted her. "Are you busy? I feel like we haven't spoken in ages."

"I'll be right over." Emily closed her phone and put it back in her pocket. She went into the kitchen and Arianna looked up at her. "Hey, my mom just called. She needs me. I'm really sorry. I know we had a date tonight."

"Oh, it's still early," Arianna pointed out. "Maybe she won't need you for that long."

"I don't know. It's my mom. Anything she has me do usually takes awhile," Emily said. "But I'll call you if I'm free."

Glad that was enough to satisfy her girlfriend; Emily walked the woman to her car and then headed to her own. Did lying make her a bad person? Probably. But she needed to get her shit together, and the only person who would be bluntly honest with her was her mother.

* * *

"Okay, so you're dating a woman you have no interest in and you refuse to tell the woman you actually like that you have feelings for her?" Elizabeth Prentiss asked. "Emily why are you being so foolish? I raised you better than that."

"I know," Emily said. "I don't know what to do. There's no way I'll ever get to be with Jay-Jay so I don't want to hold out for her and let a good woman past me by."

"But at the same time you have no feelings for that woman," Elizabeth said. "You're going to end up breaking her heart and if she keys your car for it, I can't blame her. Though that would be rather un-classy."

"I'll break up with her tomorrow," Emily said. "But what do I do about my feelings for Jay-Jay?"

"Whatever you think is best, honey," Elizabeth said.

"I don't know what that is."

"I can talk to her for you if you'd like."

"That's okay, Mom," Emily said. "I'll handle it." What handling it meant, she didn't know but in time she'd figure it out.

* * *

A/N: igorellis: Haha yes, but only because I probably won't update this weekend. Sorry it's short.

Again, thanks for the feedback. It's much appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

JJ was having lunch with Reid and the man was still waiting for her to bring up why she asked him to join her. She had said she needed his advice and left it at that. He knew something was bothering her from the look on her face.

"What's going on Jay-Jay?" Reid asked. "You seem out of sorts."

"I need some advice," JJ said. "I know you're the only one who will be logical about it. You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you though."

"I won't," Reid assured her. "I'm the resident secret keeper at the BAU, remember?"

JJ gave the man a small smile. "Yeah, I know."

"So, what's on your mind?"

JJ bit her bottom lip and thought about how to go about telling Reid that she had a crush on Emily. "Well, you know I'm close with Emily. She's a great friend. I, uh… I like her."

Reid frowned. "Is that the secret? I'm pretty sure everyone knows that already. We all like Emily."

JJ should've known that she would need to be more direct about what she was trying to say. "No, Spence. Not like as in I like her as a friend. I meant that I have feelings for her. Romantic feelings. Feelings that popped up out of the blue and knocked me on my ass. I don't know what to do."

"Oh," Reid said. "That's not what I was expecting."

JJ ran a hand through her hair. "What should I do?"

"Have you thought about telling her how you feel? That's how relationships usually start."

"Yes, I've thought about that. I just don't know if it's a good idea. She's one of my best friends and we have a great relationship. I don't even know if she'll be interested in me. I know she likes women, but that doesn't mean she'll want to date me. And do I want to potentially wreck our relationship by telling her how I feel?" The media liaison ran a hand through her hair and let out a breath. "What do you think?"

Reid pondered JJ's situation for a few seconds before speaking. "I think the relationship would work. You two pretty much already act like a couple. You're always together and you stay physically close a lot too. I never thought much about it before now. Also, you both work together so you already understand how your jobs can get in the way of your personal life. You don't have to explain it. What Emily lacks, you make up for and vice versa. You two would go well together. You'd have to keep things a secret so that Chief Strauss wouldn't find out. But I think you two could manage that."

"So you really think I should tell her?"

"Well, even though I think the relationship would work there's a chance it might not. A break-up could ruin your friendship. If you're willing to risk it, then I'd say go for it."

"Thanks Spence. You helped a lot," JJ said. "I think I know what I'm going to do now."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"After work I'm going to march up to Emily Prentiss and tell her how I feel," JJ smiled, but then it faltered as she remembered something.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked.

"What do I do if she has a girlfriend?" JJ always forgot about Arianna. It was probably because she hated that Emily was with her and tried to keep thoughts of the woman out of her head.

"How long have they been together?" Reid asked.

"Not long at all. Arianna's not even good enough for her. She bought Emily roses yesterday. Emily dislikes roses. She thinks they're trite."

"Well I'm sure she would learn that in time. You have known Emily longer. But back to the situation at hand. I think you should still tell her how you feel. It's up to Emily to do what she wants with the information."

JJ sighed. "Okay. Tonight after work might be the best or worse day of my life." She hoped it would the former.

* * *

The media liaison entered Garcia's office and sat down in the chair beside the woman. "I need a pep talk."

Garcia smiled and looked at her friend. "You came to just the right place. What's the pep talk for?"

"You know how you've been trying to tell me that I like Emily?" JJ asked.

The tech analyst nodded.

"Well you're right. I finally realized it and plan on telling her how I feel tonight. I'm just nervous."

Garcia's face lit up with excitement. "That's great. You two will be the cutest couple ever. You have no reason to be nervous."

"What if she's not interested? What if she wants to stay with Arianna? What if-,"

"Okay, okay." Garcia held up her hands to stop the blonde from continuing. "That's too may what ifs there, Jay-Jay. Everything's going to be fine. Tell our favorite brooding brunette how you feel and I think her reaction might be what you want."

"You sound so sure," JJ said. "What makes you think she'll feel the same?"

"I just have a strong feeling about it is all," Garcia said. "Stop worrying. Just be honest with her."

There was a knock at the door and Garcia told whomever it was to come inside.

Emily opened the door and spotted JJ sitting with Garcia. "I was going to ask you if you've seen Jay-Jay, but here she is." She looked at the media liaison. "Can I talk to you?"

JJ nodded. "Yeah, I'll be out in a second. You can meet me in my office." Emily nodded and closed the door back. JJ looked at back her friend and saw that the woman was doing something tech related. "What are you doing?"

"Turning off the camera in her office," Garcia said, nonchalantly.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Why wait until after work to tell Emily how you feel when you can do it right now?" Garcia asked.

"We're at work," JJ said.

"So?

"It might not go well." The blonde's nervousness was returning now that Garcia was telling her to talk to Emily about her feelings now instead of later. She thought she'd have more time to think about what she was going to say. "I don't even know what I'm going to say exactly."

"You don't need to have a speech ready, hun," Garcia said. "Tell her what's in your heart." The blonde made a shooing motion. "Go and make me proud."

JJ stood up and straightened out her clothes. "Do I look okay?"

"You look beautiful like always. Now go."

JJ left the office and headed to her own. As she entered it, she found Emily sitting on the chair across from her desk. "Hey." She went over to her chair and sat down. "What'd you need?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to do something tonight," Emily said. "We haven't spent much time together lately."

"Yeah, I'd like that. What'd you have in mind?"

Emily shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

"Okay, well what's next on your list?" JJ asked.

"Spend a day at the beach," Emily said. "I haven't been in awhile and I've been wanting to go. I used to go to the beach all the time as a kid when I was able to. I always found it to be peaceful."

"I haven't been in awhile either," JJ said. "A trip to the beach sounds fantastic. We can go on Saturday if you want. I mean, if you don't have plans with Arianna."

"We broke-up," Emily said, casually.

Inside JJ was excited, but she tried not to make it show. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't into the relationship as much as I should've been. Anyway, I'll let you get back to work," the brunette said as she stood up to leave.

JJ got up as well. "Wait. I wanted to talk to you about something."

Emily stayed standing as she looked at her friend. "What's up?"

"Um… I didn't like Arianna." JJ didn't know why that came out but it did.

The profiler raised an eyebrow. "You didn't?"

JJ shook her head. "I didn't think she was good enough for you, which is stupid because I didn't know anything about her. I was just… I was jealous."

"Why would you be jealous?" Emily asked.

"You were spending all your time with her," JJ said. "I wanted you to be spending that time with me."

"I'm sorry, Jay-Jay," Emily said, sincerely. "Next time I'll balance my relationship with my girlfriend and friends better."

"I don't want there to be a next time," JJ said.

The profiler was confused. She didn't understand what JJ was trying to say. "Um, you don't want there to be a next time?"

JJ sighed. "I was hoping to be smoother than this. You'd think being a media liaison would mean I could tell someone I like them without becoming a blabbering mess."

"You what?" Emily asked with wide eyes.

JJ moved so that she was standing closer to Emily. "I like you, Em. I want to be with you."

There was a knock at the door and Hotch popped his head inside. "We have a case." He saw the confusion on JJ's face. "This one came directly to me. Gather the others and we'll meet in the conference room." Hotch disappeared, leaving JJ alone with Emily again.

JJ gestured towards the door. "I guess we should get going."

Emily nodded. "We'll talk about this later?"

"Yeah." JJ made her way towards the door.

"Jay-Jay," Emily said. She waited for the blonde to turn around before she continued. "I want what you want."

The media liaison smiled and left the office without a word. This was definitely looking to be one of the best days she's ever had.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

5 hours later…

JJ didn't know how things had gone wrong so quickly. She and Emily had gone to interview a witness and now here they were in a huge crate of some sort with a bomb set to go off in four hours. It had happened fast. They were sitting down to interview a Lionel Smith and the next thing she felt was a needle in her neck. Not only was Lionel Smith the unsub but he had a partner. The man had been kidnapping people and putting them in isolated areas with a bomb. They had yet to figure out why he was doing what he did, but she hoped the team would find them soon.

Emily looked over at JJ and could tell that the woman was doing some heavy thinking. The holes that had been poked through the top of the crate gave them enough light to see. The ticking of the bomb at the other end of the crate was driving her crazy. She didn't need the constant reminder that her life would be coming to an end if no one could locate them.

"This was not how I pictured the rest of my day going," JJ said.

Emily sighed. "Yeah, me neither. I was hoping to be able to take you out on our first date tonight."

Despite their current situation, JJ smiled. "And what did you have in mind for a date?"

"That new Italian restaurant that just opened," Emily said. "Thought I'd take you there and we'd talk about things."

"What kind of things?" JJ asked.

"Us." Emily took JJ's hand into hers and intertwined their fingers. "You know, figure out what it is that we want exactly."

"I know what I want," JJ said. "I want you to be my girlfriend. I know it probably seems like it's coming out of left field. I've never had feelings for a woman before, but I can't say that I've felt this way for a man before either. I have feelings that run deeper than friendship for you, Em. I want a relationship with you. This wouldn't be a fling for me."

"It never crossed my mind that it would be," Emily said. "But I'm glad you made that clear."

"Think the team will find us in time?" JJ asked.

"I hope so," Emily said. "Hotch knows that we were heading to speak with Smith so they'll be looking for him."

"Yeah, but if Smith set the timer for four hours instead of one or two than he probably doesn't think anyone will find us in time."

"You're supposed to be the optimistic one," Emily said.

"Sorry," JJ said. "I'm just not looking forward to being blown to bits."

"And the pessimism continues."

JJ ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, how about you tell me something about yourself that no one else knows?"

Emily raised an eyebrow. "We're trapped who knows where with a bomb and that's what you want to talk about?"

"Would you rather sit here and listen to the bomb ticking?"

"Fine," Emily said. "Number six on my list was to tell someone the story of my life. You know, from when I was a kid to now."

The media liaison was surprised that Emily would willingly share information about her past and was eager to hear about how her friend was raised and what made her become the person she was today. "I'm listening."

* * *

Hotch exited the interrogation room that held Lionel Smith and went over to Morgan. "He's not talking." An officer had stopped the man and his brother because of their speed limit and had been shot by Lionel. The officer hadn't been severely wounded and radioed in the license plate number. After a high speed chase, the two men were eventually captured. Hotch was called when the police had found the cell phones, guns and badges of Emily and JJ.

"Reid's not having much luck with his brother either," Morgan said. "He might be easier to break though. He seems to carry guilt for what they've done."

Reid exited the other interrogation room and went to find Hotch and Morgan. "Dan lives to please his brother. Lionel is all he has so he wants to keep him happy. That's the only reason he helps him. We have to distort the image Dan has of his brother to get him to talk."

Hotch looked at his watch. According to Lionel they only had two hours to get to JJ and Emily. "I have an idea."

* * *

JJ had been surprised to learn that at fifteen, Emily had gotten pregnant and had an abortion. The woman still felt strongly about the whole situation and JJ did the best she could to comfort the woman as she retold the story. Much of Emily's life was full of disappointment when it came to her personal life. She excelled in school and at any job she had, but when it came to things that really mattered to the woman, her hopes and dreams had fallen short. Her parents bought her a lot of things to keep her happy, but that's not what she had wanted. She wanted to spend time with them and have a normal family life. She was glad that Elizabeth Prentiss had decided to come around more often and spend time with Emily. That's all the brunette really wanted. Even if she seemed annoyed by her mother at times, she knew Emily enjoyed being around her.

Emily had also learned about JJ's life. She found out that the necklace the woman always wore was given to her when she was eleven by her older sister. Shortly thereafter, her sister had committed suicide and for the longest time JJ had blamed herself. She finally came to terms with it after a few years, but she thought about her sister everyday. Her sister was why she did what she did for a living. She wanted to help people.

JJ looked over at the bomb and saw that they now had a little less than two hours left. She was surprised that they had talked for so long about their childhood. "Anything else on your list that we can do now?"

Emily reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and handed it over to the blonde. "I didn't want you to see it because of number one."

JJ looked at number one on the list and smiled. 'Tell JJ how I feel about her' was written there. "So how do you feel about me?"

Emily smiled back at the woman and looked down at their hands, which were still intertwined. "I like you a lot. Sometimes when you smile at me, I think my heart is going to beat out of my chest. You make me want things I've never even considered before."

"I'm glad you found your way to the BAU, Emily. I love having you in my life." JJ handed the list back to the woman. "You can cross off two as well." When JJ had read that Emily wanted to matter to someone, she was shocked. The brunette should've known by now that she was cared about by everyone on their team. "You matter to more people than you know, Emily. Not only does our team love you, but you make a difference in a lot of people's lives. Don't ever doubt that."

"Thanks. That's nice to hear." Emily put the paper back in her pocket and looked over at the clock. She had faith that their team would find them. They had to. She wanted to be able to see where her relationship with JJ would take her.

There were thirty minutes left until the bomb was set to explode and the two agents were sitting quietly, lost in their thoughts.

Emily looked over at her girlfriend. Was she her girlfriend? They hadn't exactly made things official yet. "So can I call you my girlfriend?"

JJ couldn't see Emily's face that well. It was dark out now and the only light was coming from the red numbers on the bomb. "I'd like you to."

"Okay, good. I was just checking," Emily said. "Would it be insensitive of me to ask for a kiss? It's just that I've wanted to kiss you for so long and I might not get a chance to do so later."

"Now who's the pessimistic one?" JJ joked.

"If you want to wait, then I'll understand," Emily added quickly. "I know this isn't the most romantic situation."

JJ couldn't help but smile. She was sure the brunette was blushing. "I'd like you to kiss me."

Emily released JJ's hand for the first time in hours and brought her hand up to find the woman's face. Once her hand was on the side of JJ's face, she used her thumb to trace her bottom lip. As she leaned forward, she heard voices and pulled away before their lips could touch. "Do you hear that?"

"Yes." JJ stood up as she heard their names being called. "Looks like we can get that first date after all. Not tonight though."

Emily laughed. "Definitely not tonight."

The two women began to bang on the crate and yell so that their team could locate them.

They heard Morgan tell them that he was going to have to shoot the lock off the crate and seconds later they heard him fire his gun. The door was then opened and the two women walked out into a junkyard.

A man with the bomb squad went into the crate with a flashlight to disarm the bomb and everyone moved away.

Emily nudged Morgan playfully. "Cut it a little close didn't you?"

Morgan laughed. "Better late than never, right?"

"How'd you find us?"

"Dan Smith," Morgan said. "Hotch recorded a conversation with Lionel getting him to say certain words, and then Garcia edited it so it sounded like he was telling them that Dan did everything. Reid played that for Dan and the man told us everything."

Emily patted the man on the shoulder and smiled before going over to JJ who was talking to Hotch. The man handed her gun, badge and cell phone over. "Thanks," she said as she took them.

"Why don't you two go home and get some rest. We'll take it from here," Hotch said. "You've had a long couple of hours."

"Rest sounds good," JJ said.

Reid smiled. "If Garcia let's you get any. She's been worried sick. She'll want to see you."

"I have to talk to her anyway. I've got news for her."

"What kind of news?" Reid asked

"It has to do with what we talked about at lunch today," JJ said.

"Good news, then?"

JJ nodded. "Definitely good news."

JJ and Emily walked away, leaving Hotch and Reid together.

"What was that about?" Hotch asked.

"Something good," Reid said before walking away to join Morgan.

Hotch furrowed his brows and wondered what was going on that he didn't know about, but decided to leave it alone. He'd find out eventually.

* * *

A/N: Not that good of a chapter, but I'll try to make up for that in the next one.

CloisDestiny: Nope, figured I'd spare everyone and not take away from JJ and Emily getting together faster.

heatwave16: Aw, feel better soon. Being sick is never fun... unless it gets you out of something you don't want to do.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

The team knew that Emily was in a good mood. She was smiling a lot, being nicer than usual and she joked around with them more. The woman had even come in this morning with a bag of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee to share with them. It was her parents' favorite and they had given her some as a gift the other day. People were definitely frequenting the coffee machine more than they usually did.

They were enjoying the brunette's playful mood and wondered if it was something they were going to see more often. Don't get them wrong. The profiler was always fun to be around, but she never strayed too far from her professionalism.

Morgan had found out yesterday night after Emily and JJ went home that the two were starting something up. He had called Garcia to get the information out of her and she told him. He never thought much of the way the two acted with each other, thinking they were just best friends and nothing more, but when he learned that there was something more between them, he wasn't surprised. "So," Morgan said from his desk. "Why are you so perky?"

Emily smiled. "I'm not perky."

"On the contrary," Reid began. "You are very perky."

Morgan gestured to Reid. "See? So what's going on? I know it's Jay-Jay related. You don't want me guessing what it is either 'cause you'll turn different shades of red."

The brunette knew Morgan was probably thinking she and JJ had sex last night, but that wasn't the case. They hadn't even had their first kiss yet. "Our first date is tonight."

"Where are you taking her?" Morgan asked.

"Bellissimo, that new Italian restaurant," Emily said.

"Nice," Morgan said. "I'm sure she'll love it."

Reid saw JJ exit her office with a familiar look on her face. "Uh oh. Here comes Jay-Jay? She has that look on her face."

"Case?" Morgan asked.

"No the other look," Reid said.

"Reports?" Emily asked.

"Bingo."

JJ approached them and gave them an exasperated look. "I need your reports from the Stanley case."

"We will have it to you by the end of the day," Morgan said.

"Try in two hours," JJ said.

Emily frowned. "Two hours? We still have cases to profile."

JJ sighed. "Three hours, then."

Reid held up a manila folder for JJ to take. "Mine's done."

Emily glared at the scrawny man. "Suck up."

"Thanks, Spence." JJ took the folder and looked at Morgan and Emily. "Reports in my office in three hours."

"You'll have it," Emily promised. "Sorry it's late. My mind's been all over the place today. I'm excited about this date I have with this sexy agent."

JJ grinned. "Oh yeah? I have a date with a pretty sexy agent as well." The blonde lowered her voice. "Don't tell anyone though. It's against protocol."

Emily smirked. "Doesn't that fact make it that much more exciting?"

"It does."

"Well, this said agent is preoccupying my mind right now so I'll give you that report at the end of the day?"

JJ pretended to think about it. "You know what? How about we go back to two hours? Looking forward to tonight," she winked at the woman before walking away.

"That's just her, right?" Morgan called to JJ. The blonde ignored him and he sighed. "See what you did?"

"I thought I had her," Emily said.

Reid looked at the two agents. "It really won't take that long to write. The case wasn't even that long."

Emily crumpled a piece of paper that was on her desk and threw it at Reid's head. As she saw him pick it up to throw it back at her, she ducked and Reid's eyes widened. She turned her head and saw Hotch bending down to pick up the paper that had hit him. She quickly turned around and picked up a pen to pretend to be working. Morgan did the same as he tried not to laugh.

Hotch approached Spencer's desk and looked down at the man. He held up the crumpled paper for the man to see. "You hit me with this."

"I, um… was trying to get it in the trashcan," Reid said.

"You missed drastically," Hotch stated.

"Sorry, sir," Reid said.

Hotch walked away, leaving the three agents alone once again.

"You were aiming for the trashcan?" Emily asked with a smile on her face.

"It was a good lie," Reid said. The next thing he felt was the paper hit him in the back of the head causing Morgan and Emily to erupt in laughter. When the younger agent turned around he saw Hotch walking to the coffee machine. Smiling he picked up the paper and this time tossed it in the trash. He liked days like these. Not a lot was going on and they could afford to loosen up a bit.

Emily's cell phone rang and she picked it up from her desk without bothering to look at the caller id. "Agent Prentiss."

"Emily, darling, how are you?" Ambassador Prentiss asked.

"I'm fine, Mom. How are you?"

"I'm well," Elizabeth said. "Are you busy tonight?"

"I am, actually," Emily said. "I have a date tonight."

"I hope it's with who I'm thinking it is."

"It is," Emily smiled. "I'm taking her to Bellissimo."

"Nice choice. What time is your date?"

"It's at eight."

"Your father and I just wanted to see you but it can wait," Elizabeth said. "Have fun tonight, dear. I'll speak to you later."

"I will. Bye." Emily set her phone down. Just a few more hours and she'd be on her date with JJ.

* * *

Emily was sitting at a table in the Italian restaurant waiting for JJ to show up. They had gone home and gotten ready and decided to meet up at the restaurant. Emily couldn't wait to see her girlfriend. She knew the woman would look breathtaking. She always did.

The brunette smiled when she saw JJ being shown to the table and stood up to greet her. "You look great." Emily took in the blonde's appearance. Her hair was flowing down past her shoulders and her dark blue dress fit her nicely.

"Me? Look at you," JJ smiled. The profiler was in a simple black dress and high heels. She never thought she'd see Emily Prentiss wearing either of those. "You look beautiful. I didn't even know you owned a dress."

"I have a few." Emily sat down after JJ did. "I like to dress up every once in awhile."

"You always look great in whatever you're wearing," JJ stated.

A waiter came over to find out what drink the two women would like and then walked away. As JJ looked through the menu, she couldn't decide what she wanted. "Everything looks good."

Emily scanned through the menu and then made a few suggestions. "I've never been here before but I've had those dishes at other places." When she looked up from the menu to look at JJ, she saw that the woman was smiling at her. "What?"

"I forgot you spoke Italian." JJ had liked hearing Emily speak the names of the Italian dishes with ease. "Say something else."

Emily smiled and leaned forward a bit. "Hai belli occhi."

"What does that mean?" JJ asked.

"She said you have pretty eyes."

Emily frowned. There was no way she just heard her mother's voice. When she looked up, she saw that it was in fact her mother standing nearby with her father. She watched as the two walked closer to the table.

"Well this is a surprise," Elizabeth Prentiss said.

"A surprise?" Emily scoffed. "Mom, I told you I was going to be here."

"Must've slipped my mind. We'll join you."

"There are only two chairs," Emily said.

"That can be fixed."

After getting two more chairs at the table, Elizabeth and Graham Prentiss settled themselves in. Emily couldn't believe her date with JJ was already going downhill and it hadn't even really started yet.

Graham looked at the blonde his daughter was having dinner with. "So you must be Jay-Jay."

JJ thought that Emily's father was a handsome man. He looked to be in shape and his black hair was obviously dyed but he kept it gray on the sides, which added a sense of sophistication to his look. It was probably done on purpose for that exact reason. "Yes, that's me."

He stuck out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too, Mr. Prentiss." JJ shook his hand.

"You look familiar," Mr. Prentiss said as he tried to remember where he had seen the woman.

"You've probably seen her on television, dear," Elizabeth said. "She's a media liaison at the BAU."

Emily's father launched into a conversation with JJ about her job and Emily took this chance to whisper to her mother that they needed to leave. Of course her mother waved her off and told her to relax. Two hours later her father had already paid the bill but they were still talking. She was glad that JJ seemed to be enjoying herself though. Her father had brought up one of Emily's ex-girlfriends and they were enjoying a good laugh at her expense.

"Leslie wasn't that bad," Emily said.

"She was," Mr. Prentiss said. "I don't know what you were thinking with that one.

"Jay-Jay may be your best girlfriend yet," Elizabeth said.

"I'll have to agree with you there," Emily smiled. She looked at JJ and the media liaison returned the smile.

"So, Jay-Jay," Elizabeth said. "How do you feel about kids?"

_Oh god. _Emily thought. She already knew where this was going.

"I love kids," JJ answered. "Emily's great with them herself."

"That's great," Elizabeth beamed. "At least now I have hope of getting grand-kids."

"Mom," Emily said, sheepishly. "We haven't even had a first date yet."

"I thought this was your first date," Elizabeth said.

"I don't know if I'd call it that anymore," Emily said.

Mr. Prentiss looked at his watch. "We should be going. I have a plane to catch tomorrow." He looked at JJ. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," JJ smiled.

Emily stood up to say goodbye to her parents. She promised them she'd stop by soon and they left. "I am so sorry about them."

"It's fine," JJ said. "I had fun. I would've preferred it to be just us, but at least I've won the approval of your parents."

"Yeah, you have them wrapped around your finger already," Emily smirked. "Come on. Let's get out of here. I'll follow you home in my car."

"You don't have to do that," JJ said.

"I want to spend some time alone with you," Emily said. "We can cuddle on the couch and talk or something."

JJ smirked. "Or something sounds good," she winked as she stood up.

Emily got up as well. At least her parents wouldn't be around to interrupt their first kiss.

* * *

Emily and JJ were cuddled up on the couch, and to their surprise, they hadn't kissed yet. They were just enjoying being close.

"I should go," Emily said. "It's late."

"Don't be silly. You can spend the night," JJ said.

"Yeah, but we're dating now. I have to go home and let you pine over me until you're able to see me again."

JJ laughed. "That'll be tomorrow at work, but okay. I get what you're saying."

The two women got up and made their way to the front door.

"Sorry again about my parents," Emily said.

"It's fine. Really. Just don't tell them where our next date is going to be," JJ said.

The two agents stood staring at each other, neither making a move.

"Well, are you going to kiss me or not?" JJ asked.

Emily smiled and leaned forward slowly. She was surprised when JJ leaned in the rest of the way to capture her lips. The kiss was slow and passionate. They didn't want to rush it. They wanted to revel in this moment.

When the two women pulled away, JJ had a smile on her face. "Sure you don't want to spend the night?"

"No, but I'm still leaving," Emily smirked. "We're taking this slow."

"Okay, I'll behave," JJ said. "For now. See you tomorrow." JJ opened the front door to let Emily out.

"Goodnight," Emily said as she headed to her car.

"Call me when you get home." JJ liked knowing that Emily made it home safely and she also liked the woman's voice being the last thing she'd hear right before she went to bed. The blonde closed the front door and went upstairs to her room thinking about how lucky she was to be able to say that Emily Prentiss was her girlfriend.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

One week later…

Emily, Reid and Garcia were lying on beach towels as they talked and watched Morgan and JJ play volleyball with a group of people they had met on the beach. They had planned to come here last Saturday but a case had ruined that. They were glad to be here now though. It was just the five of them and they were having a good time.

Reid glanced over at Emily. "So when do you guys plan on telling Hotch and Rossi about your relationship?"

"We think it's best that we establish the fact that we can have a relationship without it interfering with work before we tell them anything," Emily said.

Garcia nodded. "That's a good idea. Hotch is a stickler for the rules and will most likely want to report it."

"Yeah, and with Strauss always out to get us, it would give her the ammo she needed to slowly break-up the team," Reid added.

"Definitely don't want that happening." Emily continued to watch JJ play volleyball, thinking how lucky she was to be with her.

Garcia noticed Emily admiring the woman and smiled. "You two go great together."

Emily smiled. "Thanks. That's nice to hear."

"It's the truth," Garcia said. "You two haven't been together long, but this is the happiest I've ever seen her."

Emily felt the same way about JJ. She hadn't felt this good about life in a long time. She hoped that she could keep JJ happy. It was an underlying fear that Emily had ever since the two had started dating. She wasn't great at relationships and was afraid that she'd do something to mess things up.

"Look," Garcia nodded over to where JJ was standing. "Victim number five."

Emily watched as a man who was probably in his early twenties talked to JJ.

Morgan approached them and looked down at Emily. "You're not going to do anything about that guy trying to make a move on your girl?"

"Jay-Jay can handle herself," Emily said. "And it's more amusing this way."

Morgan sat down on his beach towel and watched with the others as JJ successfully got rid of the young man.

Once JJ was near them, Garcia called out, "I'll give that a ten. He looked baffled at the fact that he got turned down."

JJ laughed. "He couldn't comprehend what 'I have a girlfriend' meant. He thought I was joking." She sat down next to Emily and placed her hand on her knee. "You should've joined us, babe. It was fun."

"I'm no athlete," Emily said. "I would've been horrible out there. Besides, I was fine with enjoying the view."

Morgan grinned. "Hey, be careful. Jay-Jay might not like you checking me out."

Emily rolled her eyes. "I'll leave that for the other women to do."

"Like me," Garcia said. "And trust me my super fox, I was definitely looking."

Morgan laughed. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Let's go for a swim. You coming, Reid?"

"Yeah, sure," Reid stood up to join his friends.

Once they were gone, JJ gave Emily a kiss. When she went to deepen it, she felt Emily pull away. "What's wrong? Not a fan of pda?"

"I like hand holding and quick kisses, but not a full blown make-out session," Emily said.

JJ wasn't surprised, and she herself was usually the same way but seeing her girlfriend in a bikini did things to her. "I'm so glad we decided to stay here until Sunday afternoon. That hotel room is going to be put to good use." The media liaison pulled sunscreen out of her tote bag and handed it to Emily. "Would you mind?"

"Of course not." Emily took the sunscreen and waited for JJ to lie down on her stomach before she began to rub it onto her back. She and JJ hadn't consummated their relationship yet. They had been together for a week now and Emily was well aware that JJ wanted to be with her physically. The blonde could barely keep her hands off her when they were in public. Alone it was even worse. It wasn't that Emily didn't want to be with JJ in that way. She was just nervous. Her girlfriend had never been with a woman before and Emily had fears because of that. She thought that maybe she wouldn't be able to please JJ or that once they finally had sex that JJ would decide that being with a woman isn't what she really wanted.

She would have to talk to someone about this. Someone who wouldn't be amused by her problem. _Reid. _She would usually keep this sort of thing to herself, but she had to get this worked out. Garcia would've probably been the better choice, but she could already hear the jokes the woman would make and there was no way she was talking to Morgan about her sex life. She would find a way to get Reid alone and have this talk with him.

* * *

Emily had said something about needing to get something out of her car and she had asked Reid to come along. The two were now sitting in the car as she tried to tell him what was on her mind.

"So why are we sitting here exactly?" Reid asked.

"I just wanted to talk," Emily said.

"There's nothing in the car you need?"

Emily shook her head. "Just wanted to get you alone. I have a problem."

"I'm listening." Reid was always willing to help his friends out when they needed it. He knew they'd do the same for him.

"Jay-Jay wants to take our relationship to the next level," Emily said. "I'm nervous about it."

Reid frowned. "What level is that?"

Emily had a feeling talking to Garcia really would've been the best choice. "Um, she's ready to have sex."

"And you're not?"

"Yes and no." Emily explained her fears to Reid in hopes that he'd have something to say that would help her. "Do you have any statistics on previously "straight" women being in successful relationships with other women?"

"I don't," Reid said. "But I do have statistics on communication in relationships so I can tell you that you should talk to her."

"Do you think I'm being stupid?" Emily asked.

Reid shook his head. "Your fears are justified, but I do know that Jay-Jay wouldn't just jump into anything without thinking about it first. She's not just test driving you to see if you're what she wants. She already knows she wants you and she'll do whatever she needs to prove that to you. You just have to trust her."

"I do," Emily said. "And I'll talk to her. Thanks, Reid."

"No problem," Reid smiled. "I hope your conversation with Jay-Jay goes well."

"Yeah, me too," Emily said.

* * *

Emily was sitting on the bed in the hotel room as JJ took a shower. The rest of the team had gone home already and the two women planned on spending the rest of the weekend enjoying their time alone. Emily hadn't told JJ how she felt yet. She was waiting for them to settle down for the night before she brought it up.

At hearing the bathroom door open, Emily stopped her train of thought to look up at her girlfriend. What she saw took her breath away. JJ was wearing a chemise and she looked damn sexy in it. "You look amazing. And here I am in my underwear and a tank top."

"You always look amazing," JJ smiled. She strutted over to the bed and began to crawl up to Emily. Once she was hovering over the woman, she bent down to kiss her.

Emily moaned into the kiss and rolled them over so that she was on top. Maybe she didn't need to have that talk with JJ after all. She broke away from the kiss for air and began to suck on JJ's neck. Once JJ went to remove her tank top, she felt her nervousness about the whole situation return. "Wait."

JJ stopped her movements and looked up at Emily with her brows furrowed in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Can we talk?"

"Now?" JJ asked incredulously.

"Yeah, sorry." Emily moved off the woman so that she was sitting beside her.

JJ sat up. "What's on your mind?"

"I, um… I have a few concerns," Emily said. "Well, actually just two."

"Are these concerns why you've been reluctant to have sex with me?" JJ asked.

Emily nodded. "You'll probably think it's stupid. I think it's stupid."

"I'm sure it's not." JJ placed a comforting hand on top of Emily's. "What is it?"

The profiler sighed. "I'm afraid for us to take the next step in our relationship because I'm worried I won't be able to please you or that maybe once we do this you'll decide you don't want to be with me."

"Why would I think that?" JJ asked.

Emily shrugged. "I don't know. Because you'll realize you don't like having sex with a woman?"

JJ understood Emily's concerns. She would probably have them too if she were her. "That's not going to happen, Em. There's no way I won't enjoy being with you in that way. I don't know how to put a stop to your fear of me realizing I don't want to be with a woman, but I can definitely say that I highly doubt I'll feel that way."

"That puts me at ease," Emily said. "Sorry I ruined the moment."

"You didn't," JJ said. "We can wait until you're ready."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"I'm sure. I'll just need another shower. A cold one this time," JJ joked.

Emily laughed. "Or we could make-out instead."

"Making-out is always nice," JJ smirked before leaning in to kiss her girlfriend.

* * *

Dragons of Egypt: Thank you. That was nice of you to say.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I guess the first half of this chapter is rated M. There's not too much detail, though.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

JJ entered her house a few days later with Emily following behind. They were just getting home from a case in Ohio that lasted five days. It was now Friday afternoon and they were glad to be back home.

JJ set her ready-bag down by the front door and headed towards the stairs. "How do you want to spend the rest of the day?"

Emily stopped JJ from walking by gently taking her hand and pulling her back towards her. Her lips crashed onto her girlfriend's and the blonde moaned into the kiss. Once they pulled away, JJ smiled at the brunette.

"What was that for?"

"That was for five days of not kissing you," Emily said. While they were working on the case, they had slept in separate hotel rooms to stay professional. They also didn't want to tip Hotch or Rossi off about their relationship. "I was deprived for too long." Emily leaned in and kissed JJ once again.

JJ tilted her head to the side as Emily kissed her along her jaw and down her neck. "You're getting me worked up," she let out breathlessly.

"Then let's go to your room," Emily said as she continued her actions.

JJ was surprised to hear those words leave her girlfriend's mouth. They had been taking things slow and she was fine with that. She would never push Emily to do something she wasn't ready for. She liked the fact that their relationship wasn't based off sex and that they could stimulate each other's minds. She would be lying, though, if she said that she wasn't dying to be with Emily in that way. "Did the five days of not kissing bring this on?"

Emily nodded and connected her lips with JJ's. They shared a deep kiss that lasted a few minutes before Emily pulled away.

"What about the things you were worried about?" JJ asked.

"Jay-Jay, honey. Less talking." Emily kissed the woman and they began to move towards the stairs with their lips still moving against each other. When they made it up the stairs, the brunette pushed JJ into the nearest wall and began to unbutton her shirt. She removed the shirt and kissed JJ's chest, trailing her kisses down to her stomach.

The media liaison had her fingers in Emily's hair as the woman sucked and licked at her stomach. As she felt her girlfriend begin to undo her pants, her heart began to beat faster. She was nervous. She hadn't been worried about anything until now. What if she couldn't figure out what to do? She had fantasized about the things she would do to Emily, but what if those fantasies didn't transfer over into real life very well? JJ was brought out of her thoughts when she felt her pants being pulled down her legs. She kicked them the rest of the way off and Emily stood up to look at her. JJ smirked. "You're a little over dressed."

"We'll get to me in a second," Emily said, huskily.

JJ could hear the desire dripping from her girlfriend's voice and it sent a shiver through her body.

Emily guided JJ to the bedroom and began to kiss her once they were there. She reached behind the younger woman's back and in one quick motion, removed her bra.

JJ let out a light laugh. "Well aren't you a pro at that?"

"I've had practice." Emily slowly pulled the straps of the bra down JJ's arms until it hit the floor. She took a step back and admired the woman's body.

JJ rolled her eyes as she began to blush. Stop staring at me like that.

"Like what?" Emily grinned.

"Like you're going to devour me."

"I'm going to do exactly that." Emily kissed JJ and began to back her up towards the bed.

When JJ felt the back of her knees come into contact with the bed, she broke the kiss. She moved her hands up to unbutton Emily's shirt and once it was off, she removed the bra too. She felt an ache between her legs at the sight of Emily's breasts. "You're gorgeous."

Emily gently pushed JJ onto the bed. "Not as gorgeous as you." The profiler kicked off her shoes and began to remove her pants.

"That's supposed to be my job," JJ said.

The brunette smiled. "Lay down." The media liaison moved up on the bed and laid down as Emily finished removing her pants. The brunette moved onto the bed and crawled over to JJ. "You look nervous."

"Just slightly. I don't know what I'm supposed to do exactly."

Emily bent down and placed a light kiss on her girlfriend's lips. "It'll come to you."

After minutes of making-out and trailing kisses along each other's bodies, Emily brought her hand down to remove JJ's panties. She looked at the blonde for approval and the woman nodded her head. She pulled the underwear completely off and tossed it to the floor. JJ tugged at Emily's underwear, silently stating that she wanted her to take it off too. Emily did just that and moved so that the length of her body was covering JJ's. They kissed for awhile longer before Emily trailed her hand down between the blonde's legs.

JJ bit her lower lip as Emily entered her with two fingers and as the woman began to slowly pump her fingers in and out of her, she let out a guttural moan. As Emily added a third finger, she moved down JJ's body and the next thing JJ felt made her eyes squeeze shut and her hips jerk off the bed. "Oh god, that feels good."

Within minutes, JJ reached her climax and laid motionlessly on the bed trying to catch her breath as Emily held her.

The brunette placed soft kisses on her girlfriend's shoulders as she came down from her high. "I think I've heard my new favorite sound."

JJ smiled. "And what sound would that be."

"You moaning and calling my name as you come undone," Emily said. "Best sound ever. You know, I never thought you'd be a screamer."

JJ pulled out of Emily's grasp and moved on top of her. "I'm not… well, I wasn't. Things are different with you."

Emily moved a strand of hair out of the blonde's face. "I'm glad."

The media liaison bent down to kiss Emily. "Now it's my turn to find out if you're a screamer."

* * *

After their lovemaking, Emily and JJ had decided to take a nap, but an hour later Emily had been woken up by her cell phone. She was now in sweatpants and a t-shirt as she sat downstairs in the living room talking to Garcia.

"I'm thinking of throwing a party tomorrow night," Emily said.

"You know me," Garcia said. "I'm all for parties. I can already think of five drinking games we could play."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Because I'm the queen of fun," Garcia said.

"Well, queen of fun, I'll let you know when it is exactly after I talk to Jay-Jay."

"Talk to me about what?"

Emily looked up and smiled when she saw JJ enter the living room. The blonde was wearing Emily's shirt. "A party at my condo tomorrow with the team."

"A party? That's next on your list, right?" JJ sat down on the couch. She remembered Emily telling her that she wanted a party with her closest friends because growing up she never had true friends that she could invite over for a birthday party or even just a get together.

"Yep. Garcia is already planning the drinking games."

JJ held out her hand for the phone and Emily handed it to her. She gave Emily a chaste kiss on the lips and stood up. "I'll be right back."

Emily wondered what JJ wanted to talk to Garcia about and figured it had to do with what they had done earlier. JJ and Garcia were pretty much like sisters so that didn't surprise her.

The blonde returned after a few minutes and sat down next to Emily, cuddling into her. Emily put an arm over JJ's shoulders to pull her closer. "What was that about?"

"Nothing." JJ handed her girlfriend her phone.

"Why don't I believe you?"

JJ smirked. "Okay, I had to dish to Garcia about your sexual prowess. It's what we do. We talk about these things with each other. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Emily shook her head. "That's fine. I know you two are close and share certain things with each other. So, sexual prowess, huh?"

JJ laughed. "Oh yeah. You had me seeing stars."

"You had me seeing a lot more than that." The two shared a long kiss before pulling away.

"Want to go to the mall or something?" JJ asked.

"Um, yeah. Okay."

"You sound excited," JJ said, sarcastically. "We don't have to go, babe."

"No, it's fine," Emily said. "We can go."

JJ noticed that Emily always agreed to do whatever she wanted. She knew that the woman just wanted to please her, but she wanted Emily to know that she could say no and it wasn't going to start a problem between them. "Em, we don't always have to do what I want to do."

"I know," Emily said. "I just want to make you happy."

"And I love that you want to do that, but saying no to me isn't going to make me unhappy," JJ said. "Well, in some cases it might, but I'll get over it. So what do you want to do?"

"Stay in," Emily said. "We had a long case and I just want to relax."

"Then that's what we'll do. Maybe we can find a movie on TV."

The two agents watched part of a movie but they eventually found their way back to the bedroom where they spent the rest of their day.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Emily and JJ were making out in the kitchen when they heard someone clear there throat. They quickly pulled apart and were glad to see Garcia standing there.

"I could've been Hotch or Rossi," Garcia stated. "If you want your little secret to stay a secret, then I would advise you to keep your hands and lips off each other."

Emily gestured to JJ. "She accosted me."

JJ grinned. "I didn't hear you complaining." She went to kiss Emily again, but Garcia pulled her away from the brunette.

"Behave," Garcia said. "You two have had way too much to drink."

"You're the one that keeps handing them to us," JJ pointed out.

"True," Garcia said. "And I'm not done yet. We're playing another drinking game. Come on."

The two agents followed Garcia out to the living room where the rest of the team and Haley were sitting.

"What are we playing?" JJ Emily asked.

"Never have I ever," Garcia grinned.

"Oh great," Emily said, sarcastically as she sat down on the floor next to JJ.

Garcia returned to her seat next to Morgan and smiled happily. "I'll go first."

"Never have I ever gone skinny dipping." Garcia watched as everyone in the room took a drink.

"Wait," Morgan laughed. "Reid and Prentiss have been skinny dipping?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "I was alone and it seemed like a fun idea at the time."

"But it wasn't?" Morgan asked. "What happened?"

"Anyway," Emily said. "Next person."

"One second." Morgan looked at Reid. "What's your story?"

"A group of girls dared me to do it and I did," Reid said. "I was still in high school at the time."

"How'd that go for you?" Garcia asked.

"Fine," Reid replied. "Actually, I got several numbers after that. Even one of the guys from the football team started talking to me after that. I guess he thought I was cool."

"Oh yeah, that was the reason," Emily said, sarcastically.

Everyone laughed and Morgan made the next statement. "Never have I ever had sex in a public place."

"You know," Hotch began. "I don't know if I should be playing this game."

Haley laughed. "They won't view you any differently, right guys?"

"Of course not," Morgan said. "We're just a group of friends playing a game right now."

Hotch hesitantly sipped his beer and waited for Reid to make the next statement, but Emily spoke up.

"Morgan, you haven't had sex in a public place?" Emily asked. "That's hard to believe."

"What are you trying to say about me?" Morgan grinned.

"She thinks you're a freak," Garcia said. "And quite frankly, so do I. There's no way you haven't had sex in a public place."

Morgan thought for a second. "Okay, if there was absolutely no one around-,"

"It still counts as a public place," JJ said. "Drink."

Morgan drank his beer and gestured for Reid to go.

"Never have I ever killed anyone," Reid said.

"You couldn't choose something less morbid, Spence?" JJ asked.

Reid frowned. "I couldn't think of anything else."

"And you're supposed to choose something you haven't actually done," Garcia added.

The game continued with Morgan and Garcia making the most inappropriate statements, Reid making the weirdest ones and the others sticking to general statements. The team found out information they hadn't known about Emily before but the woman wasn't willing to expand on any of it.

Emily was now in the kitchen drinking a glass of water as she looked through the pictures on JJ's digital camera.

Morgan entered the kitchen and tapped his knuckle against the wall to get her attention.

The agent turned her head and smiled at her friend. "Hey."

"What are you up to?" Morgan asked.

Emily held up the glass of water. "Sobering up and looking at pictures."

"I've been meaning to talk to you," Morgan said. "Now is as good a time as any."

"What about?" Emily asked. "Are you doing all right?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to say that I'm glad you found your way to the BAU," Morgan said. "I think you were always meant to be here with us. You fit right in and I'm glad to see you finally happy. You are happy, right?"

Emily smiled as she nodded her head. "I am. So what brought on emotional Derek Morgan?"

Morgan scoffed. "I'm not being emotional. I just wanted you to know that I, as well as the team, love having you in our life."

The brunette looked at the man suspiciously. "Did Jay-Jay tell you to say these things to me?"

Morgan shook his head. "I've just been noticing how much more open you've been with us and I like that those thick ass walls you have up are finally coming down."

"That would be thanks to Jay-Jay," Emily said. "She's really done a lot to get me to be how I am right now."

"Well, if it means anything, I think you and Jay-Jay are good for each other. You should've started dating sooner."

Hotch, who had entered the kitchen as Morgan was talking, wasn't surprised to learn that JJ and Emily were dating. He had suspected and was waiting for validation. "Morgan can you give me a minute alone with Prentiss?"

Morgan turned his head when he heard his boss and wondered if the man had heard anything. From the serious look on the man's face, he figured that he had. Morgan looked back at Emily and mouthed sorry before leaving.

"Hotch," Emily began.

The man held up a hand to stop her from talking. "We don't have to talk about this now. I do expect to see you and Jay-Jay in my office on Monday, though. As your friend, I'm happy for you both."

"And as our boss?" Emily asked.

"I can't say that I'm thrilled," Hotch said. "It goes against protocol, but it will stay between the team. I see no reason for Strauss to get involved as long as you don't make it an issue."

"It won't be an issue," Emily promised.

"Good. I don't want to see my team get broken up. Anyway, I'm heading out with Haley. We have to pick up Jack from her sister's."

Emily went to say bye to Haley and thank her for coming. After she and Hotch left everyone began to slowly leave until there was just Garcia left.

"I must say that I enjoyed playing twister," Garcia said. "There was no way I'd get Morgan into those positions on my own."

"Is that why you bought the game?" JJ asked.

"Yep," Garcia said. "My best purchase ever. I still can't believe Hotch was cool with you two dating, by the way."

"You and me both." JJ looked at Emily. "Are you sure it was fine with it?"

Emily nodded. "We just have to continue to not let our relationship get in the way of work and we'll be fine."

"Think Rossi will be fine with it when Hotch tells him?" Garcia asked.

"I'm sure the king of fraternization won't have a problem," Emily joked.

"Good point," Garcia said. "So what are we going to do now?"

"Aren't you tired?" JJ asked.

"Not even close," Garcia said. "The night's still young. Don't tell me you two are ready for bed."

"I don't know about Emily, but I'm exhausted," JJ said. "I don't have energy to do anything."

"I'm with her," Emily said. "Feel free to spend the night. We can go for breakfast in the morning."

Garcia sighed. "Party poopers. Fine, I'm crashing on the couch. I'll see you two in the morning."

The two agents said goodnight to their friend before going to the bedroom. They changed into nightclothes and cuddled on the bed.

"Tonight was fun," JJ said. "We should do this more often."

"I agree," Emily said. "but I think I found out more than I ever wanted to know about Hotch and Rossi."

JJ laughed. "You and me both. And we can't even joke on them about it. So there are only two things left on your list."

"One thing, actually," Emily said. "Things are going great with my parents. They've gotten to learn about the real me and they approve. I'm happy."

"So then just the road trip," JJ said. "Is it going to be just us two or do you want to bring the others along?"

"I haven't decided," Emily said. "We can't have sex in random places if we have our friends with us."

JJ grinned. "Says who?"

"I would've never thought you'd be such a kinky person, Ms. Jareau."

"Oh there's a lot you still need to find out about me," JJ said.

"I'm looking forward to it."

JJ kissed Emily before cuddling back into her. "Let's get some sleep. I'm tired and I just know Garcia will be up and ready to start the day early tomorrow."

* * *

A/N: Cernie: I got writer's block with it and stopped, but since you're bringing it up, I'll try to get it going again.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

A few months had passed and Emily and JJ were finally going on a road trip with their friends. Work had been nonstop busy the last couple of months and they had been rewarded with four days off so they were definitely going to make the most of it. Hotch and Rossi had opted out of joining them, but they were fine with that. It left them with more room in the van they had rented.

Morgan was taking on the first few hours of driving. They hadn't chosen a destination. They were just driving and enjoying the sites until they got tired and pulled over to camp out somewhere.

Emily stopped looking out the window to look at JJ. "I can't believe we're just driving around. Shouldn't we have a destination?"

"Nope," JJ said. "I know it's hard for you to comprehend not having a plan, but this is going to be fun. Loosen up and enjoy yourself."

The profiler smirked. "Like the way you loosened up and enjoyed yourself when Morgan suggested camping?"

"That's different. I'm afraid of the woods," JJ said. "And I would've been more willing if I brought my gun along with me."

"I'm with Jay-Jay on this one," Garcia said from the passenger seat. "There's no way in hell I'm going to camp out in the woods. I've seen too much working for the BAU so it'd just be too creepy."

"We're doing it," Morgan said with amusement. "It'll be fun. I'll protect you ladies."

JJ rolled her eyes. "I can protect myself."

"I can't. I need all the protection you can give." The tech analyst winked at Morgan when he glanced at her.

The man laughed. "Are you saying you want to go camping now?"

"If we can share a tent," Garcia said, happily.

JJ shook her head. "You're supposed to be with me on this, Pen."

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but it's not everyday I get a chance to sleep next to my chocolate Adonis."

Reid set down the crossword puzzle he was working on. "I'm with you, Jay-Jay. I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of sleeping outside either."

"Don't worry, Reid," Morgan said. "We brought flashlights."

"Well, that's two for camping and two for not camping," Garcia said. "Emily you can be the tie-breaker."

"I don't care either way," Emily said. JJ nudged the woman with her elbow and the brunette took back what she said. "I mean, maybe we should find a hotel to sleep in."

"Come on." Morgan looked at JJ through the rearview mirror. "You and Reid need to overcome your fear and this road trip will be the perfect opportunity to do that. We'll camp out tonight and then tomorrow night we'll sleep in a hotel so we can shower. I brought along the camping gear so we might as well put it to use."

JJ sighed. "Fine, but only if Reid is okay with it."

Reid scratched the top of his head. "How many flashlights are we talking?"

"Plenty," Morgan said.

"I guess we're camping tonight," Reid said.

The media liaison groaned. "I should've brought my gun. I can't scare away a bear with my badge."

Garcia turned to look at JJ. "I'd rather a bear than a deranged psycho killer."

"I can punch a psycho. I wouldn't take that chance with a bear."

Emily laughed as her girlfriend had her mini-freak-out. "Don't worry, babe. Morgan will protect Garcia and I'll protect you." She gave the woman a brief kiss and JJ smiled.

Reid frowned as he looked at his friends. "Who's going to protect me?"

"The flashlights," Emily joked.

JJ hit Emily lightly on the shoulder. "There are two tents so you can either join me and Emily or Morgan and Garcia. Don't worry, Spence. We'll make it through the night."

* * *

It was night now and the two tents were set up and a small fire was going. Everyone was playing go fish with the deck of cards the tech analyst had brought along except for Morgan, who was resting in one of the tents. He had insisted on driving until they were ready to stop so he was tired.

JJ turned her head to look around as she heard a sound from deeper in the woods. "Did you guys hear that?"

Emily looked where JJ was looking. "I didn't hear anything."

"Me neither," Garcia said.

"You could be hearing the wind," Reid suggested.

"Yeah, probably." JJ went back to playing the game, but then started to hear the noise again. "Seriously? Am I the only one that hears that?"

"Maybe Morgan's moving around in the tent," Garcia said.

"I'll check." JJ set down her cards and stood up. She made her way over to the tent and poked her head inside. She didn't see Morgan anywhere and turned around to face her friends. "He's not in there." JJ suddenly felt hands on her shoulders and was startled. She yelped and turned around quickly, glaring at Morgan as he laughed. "That was not funny."

"It was, actually," Reid smiled.

JJ turned her glare to Reid and he stopped smiling immediately. "Let's see if you're laughing when I take the batteries out of all the flashlights." The media liaison looked back at Morgan and punched him in the chest. "You're a jerk."

Morgan continued to laugh as he rubbed the spot where JJ had hit him. "I can't believe you fell for that."

"You're lucky she didn't have her gun," Garcia chided the man.

Emily stood up and went over to Emily. "How about we go for a walk through the woods so you can see that it's really not that bad?"

"Or not," JJ said. "There's no way you're going to make me go out there." Emily whispered something in the woman's ear that made her smile. "Okay, I guess it won't hurt."

Morgan looked at the women with a grin on his face. "What'd you say to her?"

"Oh, nothing." Emily retrieved two flashlights before taking one of JJ's hands into her's. "We'll see you guys in a few."

Garcia laughed. "I doubt that."

Morgan sat down next to the woman. "Yeah, it'll be awhile before we see them again."

"Do you think they'll get lost?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, something like that," Morgan said, not bothering to explain to Reid what they really meant.

* * *

Emily and JJ were walking through the woods hand in hand with flashlights in their free hand. It had been an hour of them just talking, joking around and having occasional make-out sessions. They were now walking back to the campsite.

Emily brought JJ's hand up to her lips and kissed it. "I really wanted to thank you for the things you've done for me."

JJ glanced over at the woman. "Things like what?"

"You know," Emily began. "Having me make that list and doing all the things on it with me."

"Except the karaoke thing," JJ said.

"Yes, except that and I'm still sorry about it."

"Don't be," JJ said. "I was just teasing you. Thanks for letting me do all those things with you."

"I wouldn't have wanted to do them with anyone else." Emily stopped walking and JJ turned to face her. "I never thought that I would have someone like you in my life. You're perfect for me. I'm grateful everyday that you saw something in me that made you want to be with me. I know I have my flaws. I keep people at a distance and I keep things in, but you've helped me with that. I hope one day I can be everything you need."

JJ brought her hand up to the side of Emily's face and stroked the woman's cheek with her thumb. "Emily, who you are is everything I need. You don't need to change. I just want you to know that I'm here for you. Our friends are here for you, too. You don't need to keep your feelings locked away from us. We love you... I love you."

Emily smiled and leaned in to kiss JJ. Once the kiss ended, she placed her forehead on her girlfriend's. "I love you too, Jennifer."

JJ wrapped her arms around Emily's neck and went in for another kiss. "How about that thing you promised me?"

The profiler grinned. "You're not afraid of having sex in the woods?"

"I think what we'll be doing will keep my fears at bay," JJ said before kissing Emily once again.

Emily let her flashlight drop to the ground as she wrapped her arms around JJ's waist. This was looking to be the best road trip ever.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for the feedback. I appreciate you taking the time to leave them. There's one or two chapters left of this story.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Emily and JJ exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around their bodies. They had gotten home from their road trip about an hour ago and decided to enjoy some time in the shower with each other.

The profiler let her towel drop to the floor and she grabbed a silk robe that was on the bed. "That road trip was so much fun. I can't believe we snuck into someone's pool."

JJ laughed as she put on her robe as well. "I can't believe we didn't get caught, especially with Reid rambling on about illegalities and trying to get us to get out."

Emily ran a hand through her damp hair as she smiled at the memory of what they had done. "We have to go on another road trip at some point, and maybe you won't be afraid to go camping."

The liaison smirked. "As long as we get to have a tryst in the woods again, I'm all for it." Emily got onto her bed and JJ cuddled up next to her. "So you're list is completely done. How does it feel?"

The brunette smiled. "Great. I have an amazing girlfriend, wonderful friends, I love my job and I can finally say that I love my life. I'm happy." Emily turned her head so that she could look at JJ. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me for anything."

"I do," Emily said. "I don't brood around like I used to, I feel like I'm a part of the team now and I don't stay in on weekends anymore and do nothing. I'm out enjoying my life and that's because of you, so thank you."

"You're welcome," JJ said. "I like you happy. You smile more and I love seeing you smile. We can even start a new list. I have some things in mind."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like a list of random places we can have sex," JJ grinned.

Emily laughed. "You would think of a list like that."

"Are you saying you're not for it?"

"Oh, I'm definitely all for it," Emily said.

"That's what I thought." JJ got out of bed. "I'll go get a pen and paper."

Emily smiled as she watched JJ leave the room. She didn't know what she did to deserve such a wonderful girlfriend. She would make sure that she kept JJ just as happy as she made her and she would always be grateful to have the liaison in her life.

* * *

The next day, Emily was sitting at her desk staring blankly at the work on her desk. She was snapped back into reality when she felt a crumpled piece of paper bounce off her head. She looked at Morgan and rolled her eyes. "What?"

"You all right?" Morgan asked. "You look like you're thinking a little too hard."

"I want to do something for Jay-Jay," Emily said. "I want to get her a gift or something. I don't know what to do or get yet, though. It requires a lot of thinking. I want it to be perfect."

Morgan frowned. "Is her birthday coming up?"

Emily shook her head. "Nope, I just want to get her something for all that she's done for me."

"Buy her a necklace and call it a day," Morgan suggested. "It's as simple as that."

Emily shook her head. "There's only one necklace Jay-Jay wants to wear." She knew that JJ loved the necklace that her sister had given her and there was no way the woman would take it off to wear a different one. It meant too much to her.

"A ring or a bracelet, then," Morgan suggested.

"I don't want to give her jewelry," Emily said. "I want it to be something better."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "What's better to a woman than jewelry?"

"Not every woman loves jewelry."

"Okay, then get her lingerie."

Emily rolled her eyes. "I don't need your help." The brunette looked at Reid. "What do you think, Reid?"

Reid looked up at the woman. "Um, I'm thinking maybe a book."

Emily scoffed. "A book? Okay, you're not helping either."

Garcia approached the tense brunette. "What's he not helping with?"

"I want to get Jay-Jay a gift and they're suggesting jewelry, lingerie and books."

"Jay-Jay's not a fan of jewelry and if she has down time, she's not going to spend it reading a book," Garcia said. "And lingerie is not a gift, Derek."

"Who said I suggested that?" Morgan smiled.

"It definitely wasn't Reid," Garcia said. "Anyway, Emily ignore them. They're men. They know nothing about heartfelt gifts."

"I'm offended by that," Reid said. "I give great gifts. I once gave you one of those horrendously creepy troll dolls that you love so much."

Garcia smiled. "That's true. You did. Okay, I take back what I said."

"Can you help me?" Emily asked Garcia.

"Of course I can," Garcia said. "We'll put our minds together and come up with something great."

Emily let out a breath of relief. "Thank you. I'm worried I won't be able to think of anything."

"I'm here. No worries."

JJ approached them. "No worries about what?"

"Um." Emily looked at her girlfriend. "Morgan has a rash. We were worried that it was serious."

Morgan's eyes widened but he didn't say a word.

"Oh no," JJ said. "Was it something from the woods? Maybe poison ivy?"

"He's fine," Emily said. "He got it checked out and it's nothing. Right, Derek?"

Morgan nodded. "Yep, just great."

"Oh okay." JJ looked at Garcia. "I need your help with something."

"I'm right behind you." Garcia followed JJ to her office, leaving the others alone.

"A rash?" Morgan asked.

"I couldn't think of anything else," Emily said, apologetically.

"Why couldn't Reid have the rash?"

"Because he wouldn't have been able to play along," Emily stated. "He's slow when it comes to these things, you know that."

Reid pouted and went back to his work. "I'm not slow," he muttered, causing Emily and Morgan to laugh.

"You're the smartest man I know, but Reid, when it comes to certain human interaction, you're at a loss."

"It's part of my charm," Reid said.

Morgan looked at the younger man. "Charm? You have charm?"

"Yep," Reid replied as he stood up. "I've been on four dates in the last month with the same girl. She must find me charming, right?"

"You're dating someone?" Morgan asked surprised.

"Nothing's official," Reid said. "It's just been a few dates."

"And you didn't tell anyone?" Emily asked.

"I told Jay-Jay," Reid said. "I told her not to tell anyone because you guys would more than likely ask questions of the embarrassing variety and I like keeping certain things to myself. You guys would like her, though. She's a very nice woman." Reid walked away with a smile on his face, leaving two stunned agents behind.

"I can't believe Jay-Jay didn't tell me," Emily said. "I can keep a secret."

"I wouldn't have embarrassed him too much about it," Morgan added.

"I'll go find out what she knows." Emily stood up and headed to JJ's office. When she walked into the room, she saw Garcia and JJ going over something. "Why didn't you tell me Reid was dating someone?"

Garcia frowned. "Spencer's dating someone?"

Emily nodded towards JJ. "Yes, and she knew."

"He asked me not to say anything," JJ said. "I was respecting that. Besides, he hasn't told me much. He needed advice on something and I gave it to him. That's how I found out. He hasn't said anything to me since."

"Who is she?" Garcia asked.

"I don't know," JJ shrugged. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Emily, I'll see you later." Emily left the office and Garcia looked at JJ, waiting to hear more information. "I really don't know anything else, Pen."

"Fine, I'll find out on my own," Garcia said. "Speaking of secrets, Emily's trying to figure out what to buy for you. Want to make any inputs?"

JJ smiled. "And this is why I didn't tell you about Spence."

"Hey, I'm helping you out here," Garcia said. "Is there anything you really want?"

JJ shook her head. "Emily can get me whatever she thinks I'll like. Why is she getting me something anyway?"

The tech analyst shrugged. "No idea, but tell me what you want before it's too late."

"Whatever she wants to buy me is fine," JJ said. "Now can we get back to work?"

"All right, all right." Garcia said.

The two women got back to work and JJ couldn't help but wonder what Emily would get her. She was excited for the day to end so she could find out.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

JJ had been in the mall for two hours with Garcia. She had been ready to go thirty minutes ago, but the perky analyst insisted that they stay. She knew something was up and wanted to get to the bottom of it. "Why are you keeping me here?"

Garcia glanced at JJ before looking back at the flowery skirt she had been admiring. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The liaison stepped in front of Garcia, blocking the skirt from her sight. She folded her arms across her chest and stared squarely at the woman. "What's Emily up to?"

Garcia turned around and began to look at another skirt. "She's at home resting. She told you today was her lazy day, remember?"

JJ dropped her arms down to her side and sighed. "Come on, Pen. Tell me."

"There's nothing to tell you. I'm out enjoying spending time with my friend. If you don't want to hangout with me…"

JJ rolled her eyes at Garcia's attempt at guilt tripping her. "I never said I didn't want to hangout with you. I just want to know why you're holding me hostage."

"If I tell you, then Emily will be beyond pissed."

"A hint, then," JJ said. "Please?"

The blonde shook her head. "Not happening. Just continue to enjoy our time together until it's time to go."

"I'm your best friend. You're supposed to tell me these things," JJ pouted.

"I'm Emily's best friend too," Garcia said. "I'm not telling you a thing."

"Does this have to do with the gift she wanted to get me?" JJ asked. "Because if that's the case, you can just tell me. You already told me she was getting me something."

"Yeah, and you had the chance to tell me what you'd want and you didn't so I'm going to let her surprise you. And may I point out that you're being a total hypocrite?" Garcia asked, referencing the secret JJ kept about Reid dating.

JJ smirked. "No you may not. But this is different. You're you. You don't keep secrets."

"I resent that," Garcia said. "I can keep a secret… especially when Emily's threatening harm upon me."

The media liaison laughed. "Knew there had to be a reason for you not to say anything."

"What can I say? You're girlfriend can be quite scary," Garcia said.

The two women continued to shop until Garcia got a text message saying that they could head to her condo.

* * *

"Thanks, Mom," Emily said as she looked at the football tickets the woman had gotten for her. "Jay-Jay is going to freak when she sees these."

"I just can't believe that's her favorite team," Ambassador Prentiss said. "Of all the teams she could choose to be her favorite, she chooses them?"

"I could care less who she likes," Emily said. "I hate football."

"Then why are you going?" Elizabeth asked.

"If she wants me to go, then I'll go. But if I don't have to, she'll have the team and Haley to keep her company."

"Well, it's really sweet of you to get her a gift out of the blue," Elizabeth said. "Know what a nicer gift would be? An engagement ring."

Emily rolled her eyes. "We're not there yet, Mom. Maybe in a few years."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Years? How many times do I have to tell you that I'm aging? I want to see you happily married with kids."

"If you want my marriage to be happy, then I can't rush into it," Emily said.

Elizabeth frowned. "You don't want to marry Jay-Jay?"

"I do," Emily said. "One day. Not now."

The Ambassador sighed. "Fine, but remember that my birthday is coming up. It would be a wonderful present to hear that you're engaged."

Emily shook her head. Her mother just didn't know when to give up. "I'll buy you a puppy."

"Very funny," Elizabeth said sarcastically.

"Anyway, Mom," Emily began. "Thanks again for the tickets, but you need to go. Jay-Jay will be here soon."

"I can't be here when she gets here?"

"I have this whole thing planned. I really don't want it to get ruined."

"Fine, but I expect dinner tomorrow with the both of you," Elizabeth said before heading towards the door. As the woman opened the door, she saw JJ walking down the hall. She turned her head to look at her daughter. "She's walking this way."

Emily quickly rushed to hide the tickets under the magazine on the coffee table just as JJ arrived at the door.

"Ambassador Prentiss, hi. It's good to see you." JJ greeted the woman with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"You're looking as beautiful as ever, Jennifer." Elizabeth stepped aside to let the woman in. "How have you been?"

"I've been great," JJ smiled. "Yourself?"

"I've been doing wonderfully," Elizabeth said. "I was just telling Emily that we need to have dinner tomorrow."

"Dinner sounds good," JJ smiled.

"Fantastic," Elizabeth said. "Well, enjoy your day, and I can't believe you like the Redskins. You seem more of a-,"

"Mom!" Emily exclaimed.

Elizabeth looked at her annoyed daughter. "What? It's not like I told her you got her tickets to see them."

JJ's mouth dropped. "You did?"

"And that's my cue," Elizabeth said. "I'll see you two tomorrow." The woman left the condo, leaving an upset Emily and an excited JJ.

Emily picked the tickets up and showed them to JJ. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

JJ jumped up and down in excitement. "Ohmygod!" She took the tickets from Emily and looked at them. "You are the best girlfriend ever!" She flung her arms around Emily and kissed her. She released her and squealed. "This is so awesome!"

Emily smiled at the scene before her. JJ was being really cute, which made it hard for her to be too upset about the surprise being ruined. "I had planned this differently."

"I know. I'm sorry it was ruined. We can still do whatever you had planned. And you are going to be getting a lot of sex today."

"What I had planned wasn't that interesting," Emily said. "We can jump right to the sex part."

JJ laughed, setting the tickets down on the table. She grabbed Emily by the hem of her shirt and pulled her in for a kiss. "How about we get started on that list we made?"

Emily smirked. "I'm all for that."

"Think we can get away with having sex on the elevator?" JJ asked.

"Let's go find out." Emily pulled away from JJ and pulled her out of the condo and towards the elevator.

The women spent the rest of the day trying to complete their list. Emily never thought she'd be the one to do half the things she did today, but JJ brought out her fun and adventurous side. And when years passed and they were married and had a son; that never changed.

**THE END**

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this.


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